GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - A moratorium placed on the continuation of annual general meetings allowing elections to take place in community police forums (CPF) has now been lifted, according to a statement issued by Western Cape minister of community safety Albert Fritz.
The ban was implemented by acting police commissioner Lieutenant-General Sindile Mfazi on 30 October 2020 after the province's CPF board called on him to do so in the wake of disagreements between the board and the department of community safety (DOCS). CPFs across the province had opposed new guidelines and directives set by the department to guide the election process within the forums.
The moratorium halted province-wide CPF elections which were due to be held in November last year, to choose new executives for the next five-year term.
Earlier in February, Fritz had met with the commissioner, Lieutenant General Yolisa Matakata, and the CPF board chair Francina Lucas, and it was agreed that Matakata would withdraw the moratorium. The lifting of the moratorium and the continuation of the CPF electoral AGMs are subject to the elections being officiated by both a DOCS representative and the SAPS station commander (or her/his representative), failing which such AGMs will be invalid, impacting on the CPFs' eligibility to receive funding from the department, the statement read.
"I am pleased with the outcome of the meeting…" said Fritz. "This will pave the way for CPFs to conclude their AGMs by 31 March 2020 … I look forward to the swift conclusion of CPF electoral AGMs.
He said it is essential that elections be conducted in a free and fair manner. "Each electoral AGM will be followed by written confirmation of the outcome which must be co-signed by SAPS and DOCS. Upon conclusion of the elections at station level, we will proceed with CPF district and or provincial board level electoral AGMs," Fritz said.
See corresponding notice for details on the next Knysna CPF AGM.
Make sure you don't miss out on Knysna CPF's upcoming AGM.
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