MyZA

News, Directory, Events and Other Stuff

You are here: Home / News / Cele spends R1 billion per year

Cele spends R1 billion per year

Dear Editor

The Democratic Alliance (DA) can reveal that the South African Police Service (SAPS) spends an eyewatering R1 billion per year on the salaries of Major Generals and Brigadiers.

The Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, the SAPS revealed this information in a reply to a DA parliamentary question. According to the reply the SAPS has 146 Major Generals and 632 Brigadiers which equates to an average salary of R1.48 million and R1.23 million, respectively. To put these salaries into perspective, the average salary for detectives, who are tasked with investigating and solving the most violent of crimes, is R481 000 per year.

Like almost every other government department, the number of millionaire managers far exceed their operational needs – no example is clearer than the SAPS. The DA has conducted many oversight tours of police stations around the country, and the same problems persist – too few detectives, lack of rape kits, outdated radios, broken vehicles – all a result of the ANC’s lopsided budget priorities.

The DA has long held the position that the bloated SAPS senior management needs to be cut down to size. South Africa needs less Generals and Brigadiers at Head Office and more boots on the ground. This will enable SAPS to spend more of its budget on core service delivery divisions such as detective services.

The DA has a plan to rescue South Africans from violent crime by decentralising policing from Pretoria down to capable local and provincial governments. We will reduce the overpaid and bloated senior management to free up budget to recruit and train more detectives and we will use technology and evidence based policing strategies to fight crime.

Regards

Andrew Whitfield MP
DA Shadow Minister of Police

Category: Tag:

If you feel strongly about this article then feel free to send MyZA a ‘Letter to the Editor’ using the submission form below:

Letter to the Editor

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
If this is in response to an article please include that article title here or as the lead in for the first paragraph of your Letter below.

Separate tags with commas

Localise your letter by naming the city your words are about. Add relevant words describing your subject. Single comma separated words of no more than 5
Your Name(Required)
Your Name will be linked to the website below.
Your personal, business or social media web site
Choose NO to not set up a user account on MyZA. User Accounts will allow you to submit letters under your own Author Name

3 Latest Letters to the Editor:

  • Don’t Ignore a SASSA Review Notice — It Is Not a Cancellation

    Dear Editor, I run SAGrant (sagrant.co.za), a free resource helping South Africans navigate SASSA grants. SASSA has reminded beneficiaries that a grant review is not a cancellation. A review simply checks whether a beneficiary still meets the qualifying requirements — it can be triggered by a change in income, employment, marital status, address, contact details…

  • SASSA’s Revised November Payment Dates – And What Beneficiaries Should Know

    Dear Editor, I run SAGrant (sagrant.co.za), a free resource helping South Africans navigate SASSA grants. SASSA has revised its November 2026 payment dates around the 4 November municipal elections: Older Persons grants will be paid on 30 October (Friday), Disability grants on 2 November (Monday), and Children’s grants on 3 November (Tuesday), with review-related grants…

  • Thoughts on Lotto Winner News

    Dear Editor This is fantastic news for the community of Gqeberha. It is always heartwarming to hear about such life-changing positive outcomes for everyday people. Congratulations to the lucky winner! Regards Buhle Ngcobo In Response to/From: R8.5 Million Lotto Winner Claims Prize in Gqeberha

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Russia: You have two cows. When you get sober you remember that the mafia took them away from you, so you actually have none.

  2. Fun South African Fact: Water is not all there is to drink in this thirsty country! South Africa’s Cape Winelands have around 560 wineries and 4 400 primary producers. Included in the Cape Winelands region is Route 62, considered the longest wine route in the world. That alone is good reason to visit South Africa if you haven’t yet been!