Annual Report 1998 of the ICD

CHAPTER 6 - EXTERNAL CONTACTS

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6.1 Foreign Representatives

  1. The Executive Director, met with or attended functions hosted by the United States Ambassador, The Royal Danish Ambassador, The Royal Dutch Ambassador, the Royal Canadian Ambassador, the Royal Ambassador of Myanmar and representatives of the British High Commission.

  2. Accompanied by an ICD delegation, the Executive Director met with Attorney General D’Oliviera and his Deputies to discuss mutual co-operation and procedural issues relating to investigations and access to case dockets.

  3. The Chief Director : Investigations, Mr. Peter Mothle, Danish Observer Mr Kai Hermann and the Executive Director met with the then Member of the Executive Council for Safety and Security, Gauteng, Ms Jessie Duarte, to discuss the operations of the ICD. The Executive and Chief Directors met with representatives of the two major Police Unions, South African Police Union (SAPU) and Police and Prison Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) to explain how the ICD functions. Both unions expressed support for the ICD’s objectives and requested additional information regarding the ICD for circulation amongst their respective members. An article regarding the ICD subsequently appeared in SAPU’s publication, Union Post.

  4. The Executive Director led a high level ICD delegation to meet with SAPS National Commissioner, George Fivaz to discuss ways of reducing the high number of police related deaths and mutual co-operation. The meeting ended on a very cordial note.

  5. In October 1997, Regional Director; Western Cape, Mr. Riaz Saloojee, Deputy Regional Director, Ms Rochelle Harmse, accompanied the Executive Director to address the Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security in Cape Town on matters arising from the presentation of the ICD’s First Annual Report before Parliament.

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6.2 Conferences and Seminars

  1. The Executive Director accompanied by Director : Complaints Registry, Mr. Steve Tiro, attended a conference hosted by the Commonwealth Ombudsman Institute, in Swartskops outside Johannesburg. The conference dealt with the improvement of democratic structures in the public service.

  2. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) sponsored a Study Tour of Canadian Oversight Agencies attended by the Executive Director and Regional Director ; Western Cape. Both members subsequently attended the 1997 World Conference of International Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (IACOLE) in Ottawa, where the Executive Director presented a paper. During the conference, he was elected as a member of the IACOLE Board.

  3. The Executive Director went to New York to participate in an international working group on police accountability, facilitated by the Vera Institute for Justice and sponsored by Ford Foundation.

  4. The Director Administration Ms. E Verster, accompanied the Executive Director to a seminar hosted by the DPSA on the new Regulations for the Public Service.

  5. The Chief Director Investigations, the Regional Director Kwa-Zulu/Natal and the Deputy Director Legal Service Dr. Johann Snyman were invited by ICITAP to attend a two week internship, from the 28th April 1997 to the 9th May 1997 at the offices of the Police Advisory Commission (PAC) in the city of Philadelphia, Pennislvania (USA). The purpose of the internship was to afford the ICD delegation an opportunity to gain insight into the operating procedures of the PAC and in particular its relationship with the Philadelphia Police Department. The ICD delegation was, as far as possible, given the opportunity to participate in the day to day operations of the PAC. They also met and had discussions with influential civic leaders and members of the legal fraternity of the city Philadelphia.

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6.3 Meetings with other Stakeholders

  1. The sub-directorate Communication organized meetings with various stakeholders all over the country. The Chief Director Investigations, the Director Complaints Registry, the Deputy Director Monitoring Adv. John Nesidoni and the Assistant Director Communication Ms. Jabu Dhlamini met the various MEC s for Safety and Security, the Secretariats for Safety and Security, the Provincial Commissioners of the SAPS, the Portfolio Committees on Safety and Security and NGO s. The meetings took place in the Northern Province, Northwest Province, Free State Province and Mpumalanga Province. The Assistant Director Communication together with the Regional Director Kwa-Zulu-Natal Adv. S’thembiso Mdladla met various stakeholders in the Province. The purpose of the meetings was to introduce the ICD and its operating procedures, to establish working relations and identify areas of common interests.

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6.4 Foreign Assistance

  1. In last year’s annual report reference was made to the support received by the ICD from the international community. During the period under review the ICD continued to enjoy the support of the international community which assumed various forms such as the training of ICD investigators and funding of computer equipment.

  2. In January 1998 , a delegation from Britain, headed by Mr. Chris Gale of the Department For International Development, visited the ICD to evaluate its needs. Following this visit a report was submitted to the ICD indicating possible areas in which support could be provided by the British Government. The ICD has not been informed yet of the nature of the decision that has been taken in this regard.

  3. It was also mentioned in last year’s annual report that the Dutch Government had seconded Chief Commissioner, Simon Molennar, to the ICD for a period of six months. Commissioner Molenaar’s tour of duty ended in Augast 1997. Shortly before Commissioner Molenaar left his compatriot, Chief Inspector Wietze Hoekstra joined the ICD as a technical advisor for one year. The ICD benefited greatly from their contributions.

  4. The Dutch Government also provided funds, in the amount of R 519 000, for the acquisition of computer equipment by the ICD. Without this generous donation, the ICD would have found it impossible to acquire at its own cost such expensive but necessary equipment.

  5. Mr. Kai Hermann of Denmark, who served with the ICD for one year as an observer, completed his tour of duty in December 1997. He made a significant contribution to the ICD and, in particular, was instrumental in designing a case management programme for the Cape Town Regional Office.

  6. The Danish Government made a donation in the amount of R 1 million and stipulated that this money be used for, inter alia; forensic examinations by independent pathologists. A trust known as the Police Complaints Mechanism Support Trust, has been established to administer these funds. The ICD is presently using this money to fund independent medical examinations by forensic pathologists in cases of deaths in police custody or as a result of police action. Without this donation the ICD or the family of the deceased would have had to foot the bill.

  7. The contribution made by the U S Government under the auspices of the ICITAP was dealt with in Chapter 3. However, it would be remiss on our part not to mention the contribution made by the U S team in other areas such as the development of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPS) and in this regard Messrs Dick Mayer and Bill Hoover made an immeasurable contribution.

 

CHAPTER 7 - COMMUNICATION

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7.1 Main Tasks of the Sub-Directorate

  1. To facilitate internal communication in order to create harmonious working relations between management and staff.

  2. To publicize ICD through meeting different stakeholders and establishing sound media relations.

 

7.2 Main Activities

  1. Produced the first Annual Report of the ICD which was tabled in Parliament in September 1997 and distributed to all relevant stakeholders, i.e. the Secretariats for Safety and Security, Parliamentary Portfolio Committees on Safety and Security, National and Provincial Offices of the SAPS, Embassies and NGO s as well as similar international bodies.

  2. Designed a brochure to publicize the ICD with the aim of informing the public about the nature and functions of the ICD. Budgetary constraints resulted in the sub-directorate designing, laying out and printing the brochure.

  3. Drafted a communication strategy, which looked at both internal and external communication. The document spelt out the goals and objectives of the sub-directorate covering in detail the following points:

  1. Had interviews with different radio stations, the first which was to introduce the ICD and its operating procedures. The second to deal with questions from the media. In the process ICD released about 35 media statements dealing with various issues, such as cases which were being investigated, number of complaints received, etc. Arrangements have also been made for the Executive Director to be interviewed by various radio stations and television.

  2. Conducted research for the Executive Director with a view to developing strategies for ensuring that recommendations made by the ICD are implemented.

  3. Organized a strategic planning workshop for middle and senior management which took place from the 6th to the 8th January 1998. Issues that were addressed included the budget, structure of the ICD, strengths and weaknesses as well as threats and opportunities. Most importantly the new mission and vision were formulated and adopted.

  4. Organized and facilitated the visit to the ICD by a British delegation led by Mr. Chris Gale and sponsored by the Department For International Development (DFID)

  5. Organized and coordinated the training by ICITAP as referred to in chapter 3.

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7.3 Problems experience by the Sub-Directorate

  1. Staffing problems as the sub-directorate only had two personnel. This problem was compounded by the passing away in December of the Deputy Director Mr. Pride Ndlovu in a tragic car accident. His untimely death has delayed the production of this report.

  2. Budgetary constraints prevented the attainment of the goals the sub-directorate set out to achieve in the year.

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