ActionSA has called for Police Minister Bheki Cele and SAPS to take responsibility for the dysfunction of the 10111 number.

The party said they are consulting with their legal team about whether Cele and the SAPS’ failure to answer more than seven million 10111 emergency calls amounts to negligence for placing South African lives at risk.

“The 10111 number, used for any emergency requiring a police response, has reportedly been dysfunctional for years, with only 40% of posts filled at call centres, resulting in millions of calls being dropped.

“This means that whenever someone phoned the emergency number for help when there was an attempted break-in, murder or even rape, they would be left to defend themselves, as the 10111 call centre would often fail to even answer their call.

“This is an absolute failure of the SAPS to perform its basic duties and contributes to the state of lawlessness seen across the country,” read the statement.

The party said the police’s inaction to address the 10111 number’s failure may have contributed to thousands of lives being put at risk as South Africans have been unable to get the help they need.

The party added that this is a part of ActionSA’s public engagement campaign ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of The Nation Address on February 9.

ActionSA wants to engage South Africans on the problems facing the country and aim to find solutions, ahead of this president’s address.