By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) has been allocated a budget of R120, 890 billion for the 2025/26 financial year.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu presented the department’s budget for the 2025-2026 financial year at the Good Hope Chamber in Cape Town.
The presentation was followed by a debate in which MPs scrutinised both the spending plan and annual performance targets.
Mchunu highlighted the police’s key priorities, which include reducing the murder rate, tackling gang violence, addressing gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) and rooting out corruption.
To support these goals, he said several critical enablers had been identified to bolster the crime-fighting strategy.
These include strengthening crime intelligence, enhancing forensic services and upgrading infrastructure such as police stations.
“This budget is about improved policing,” Mchunu told MPs.
The total allocation for Saps stands at R120.89 billion.
Mchunu said of the total allocation, R219.2 million was for securing the G20 conference scheduled for November, R400m for the 2026 local government elections, and R34.8m to support the costs associated with the appointment of an additional deputy minister as well as R150m for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI).
The salaries and benefits of employees take a huge chunk of the total budget.
The minister said they have prioritised budget allocation to Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, and the Eastern Cape, where crime is concentrated.
“It is clear that identified high crime zones in all four provinces require intelligence-led targeted deployment of specialised units to combat criminality, over and above Operation Shanela. A total of 225 hotspot police stations have been identified, demanding targeted and synchronised interventions.”
A total of R85 million has been allocated to support the top 30 high-contact crime stations.
Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Lisa‐Maré Schickerling criticised the budget, calling it “obscene” in the face of the police’s declining credibility and rising crime statistics.
“One must ask, are we funding public safety or institutional failure? The reality on the ground is devastating,” she said.
Schickerling raised alarm over South Africa’s high GBV rates and Ipid’s plan to only address 35 rape cases this year.
That’s not a plan, that’s an admission of defeat and a resignation letter addressed to every woman that the system has failed.”
Despite her concerns, she acknowledged there were some positives in the proposed budget.
Economic Freedonm Fighters (EFF) MP Leigh‐Ann Mathys also rejected the budget, expressing scepticism that it would lead to any real reduction in crime.
“Minister, even if we add your President [Cyril] Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala dollars, it is not going to help,” she said.
ACDP leader Kenneth Meshoe decried the mass arrest of senior police officials and said that despite an increase in the budget, there were systemic failures.
DA MP Ian Cameron said effective policing should have integrity as its foundation.
“We should be able to say it must be a practical commitment to make,” he said.
In response, Mchunu said 5,500 police trainees were receiving training at the various SAPS academies nationwide.
“We have advertised for the recruitment of 5,500 police trainees, who will commence with their training between January and February 2026. On the 30th of June, we introduced the online electronic recruitment system, allowing for applicants to apply online – a first for the organisation.”
He also said the DPCI will strengthen its focus on national priority crimes, including serious corruption, cybercrime, and unresolved cases linked to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The DPCI will also undertake a comprehensive recruitment drive in 2025/26 with internal advertisement of 300 posts through a post-promotion process, 250 police trainees with qualifications in law, forensic investigation, and information technology will be placed within the directorate.