President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended his decision to not fire police minister Bheki Cele during his cabinet reshuffle on Monday. Ramaphosa was being grilled by Members of Parliament on Thursday during the question and answer session at the National Assembly.

FACING TOUGH QUESTIONS 

 Ramaphosa faced tough questions from both EFF leader Julius Malema and DA’s John Steenhuisen regarding Cele who they say has failed to address crime issues in the country. In a written question, EFF leader Julius Malema asked if Ramaphosa had confidence in Cele and police commissioner General Fannie Masemola. In his response, Ramaphosa said: "I am confident that minister Cele  and the police commissioner are competent to lead the government’s collaborative approach to building a South Africa where all people feel safe," the President said. Steenhuisen asked: "Mr President, we have a police minister who can't catch criminals who are caught on CCTV committing murder.  I ask how many Jamie-Lee Julius (Mossel Bay teenager who was strangled and raped in January) need to be brutally murdered and raped before you dismiss your police minister and give us somebody who is serious about tackling crime," asked Steenhuisen.

Responding to the DA leader, Ramaphosa said Steenhuisen should stop politicising a teenager’s death. He went on to assure South Africans that SAPS was in the capable hands of Cele. “The security services of the Republic consist of a single defense force, a single police service and any intelligence services established in terms of the Constitution. The national police service must be structured to function in the national, provincial and, where appropriate, local spheres of government.” He further said that the National Commissioner is responsible to control and manage the police service, in accordance with the national policing policy and directions of the minister of police.

EVERYONE SHOULD FIGHT CRIME

 Ramaphosa further agreed with Malema that crime was rife in South Africa and said that it needed South Africans to work together to fight it. “South Africa’s current challenges of crime and violence are rooted in a legacy of exclusion and uneven development. Crime and violence are consistently concentrated amongst excluded geographic and racial groups, where opportunities for socio-economic advancement continue to fall short of real need, resulting in frustrated expectations. "Therefore, central to the programme of government and our ongoing engagement with social partners are measures to address the social and economic conditions that fuel crime."