POLICEMEN and women who have dedicated decades of their lives to fighting crime in the country have been left feeling deflated as they fail to climb the ranks due to alleged nepotism.
Despite garnering years of service, additional qualifications, and submitting numerous applications, some say they had not been promoted, while their juniors climbed to the top.
Speaking to the POST on condition of anonymity, some officers spoke of their plight.
A 53-year-old officer said he was disheartened after applying for a promotion more than 15 times, but remained unsuccessful.
He has been a warrant officer for 26 years.
“I joined the police 34 years ago due to my passion for wanting to keep our communities safe. I also wanted to ensure that I always maintained the integrity of the police, and refrained from unsavoury acts such as bribery and other acts of corruption. I also studied various police and law courses, never had any complaints against me or had to attend any disciplinary hearings. But over 20 years later, I remain stagnant in my career.
“I believe nepotism has played a big role in me remaining unsuccessful. I could have possibly been a colonel or in a higher rank by now. Officers with less service or experience have climbed the ranks within a few years, and surpassed me. During the last promotion processes I wasn’t even shortlisted, but three of my juniors were. It seems as if it is no longer what you know, but who you know,” he said.
The officer said a promotion came with many benefits.
“In the rank of captain, there would be a significant increase in my salary, which would also benefit me when I retire because my pension would be higher. It is also about being acknowledged for your contribution to keeping our country protected. But when you see such acts of nepotism, you lose hope and just wait until the day you can retire.
“Like everyone else in the country, we also have to bear the growing cost of living. I am the sole breadwinner. I have had to put my children through school and university, yet still try to survive on a lower salary,” he said.
The officer said he believed there should be a special task team set up to ensure a fair promotion process.
“People who are neutral should check if the officers fit the required criteria to be promoted. There should also be investigations done into people being promoted over their seniors. If this continues, there will be many officers who go by the book, leaving to join private entities or going on early retirement.”
A 49-year-old officer said his growth within the police had been stagnant for almost a decade.
He said prior to being a warrant officer for the past eight years, he held the rank of sergeant for a decade.
“There was no hope. Despite the workload increasing and several successes in respect of swift convictions, you are just another applicant when it comes to promotions.
“However, you are good enough to be put in acting positions such as a commander for one of the branches, for example, the detectives. But then someone else gets the official position. I have applied to be promoted to captain several times, and have not been shortlisted once over the years.
“If the processes were done fairly, I would have been a colonel by now with a better salary and my pension would be higher which would benefit my family when I am no longer around. In addition, when you climb the ranks, you are a commissioned officer, meaning it is issued to you by the president, which is a great honour. But our fight to be recognised continues every day,” he said.
A 52-year-old officer said she was demotivated to continue working as she had not climbed the rank in over a decade despite her countless efforts to be promoted.
She had served in the police for 34 years, and remained as a captain for the past 15 years.
“It has always been my dream to become a police officer. As a young girl, while others were playing with their dolls, I was playing cops and robbers. As I got older, I saw how crime was affecting our communities, and I knew I could make a difference.
“But my hopes are dashed every time I apply for a promotion. Recently, I went for an interview to be promoted to lieutenant-colonel. I was confident that I would finally get it as I had answered all the questions perfectly. However, a colleague with less than five years in the rank of captain was promoted. It did not make sense at first, but that is when I found that there was nepotism at play,” she said.
The officer said her role as a police officer extended further than just fighting against crime.
“Over the years we have built relationships within the community. We provide them with educational talks and even help those in need with food hampers and to find shelter. For me, being an officer has not only been about catching criminals, but doing good for humanity.
“It is very demotivating when you know that you are the most suitable candidate, and someone junior to you, who you have even taught, gets promoted instead. There needs to be some system in place that recognises those who have more service and experience, be first in line when there are promotions.
“Furthermore, as a single mother, it is not easy to make sure that there is food on the table and clothes on your children’s back. With every promotion, it means I can improve my life. But to be stagnant in one’s career is demotivating and at times it does make you feel that you want to leave. But I think of my community that depends on me, which keeps me strong,” she said.
A 62-year-old retired officer said he found the promotion process to be futile due to nepotism.
He retired after 38 years of service, of which 25 was spent as a captain.
“After applying multiple times, being shortlisted and going through the interview process, only to be unsuccessful, became taxing, especially emotionally. It came to a point that I gave up applying. I saw fellow colleagues with the same experience go to the grave, having not climbed the ranks. It was just a futile exercise and I became complacent with the fact that nepotism overruled experience.
“However, now that I am retired and collecting a pension, I could have had more of an income to survive on if I had been promoted. As a captain I get a pension of about R30 000. However, if I had retired with the rank of colonel I would have received about R50 000,” he said.
The officer added that there needed to be proper processes followed to ensure fair promotions.
“This will ensure that good officers don’t leave because of underhanded processes.”