Dimpane explained that since 2018, the country has spent R435 million on the PKTT.
South African Police Service (Saps) chief financial officer (CFO) Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane has broken down the budget for the political killings task team (PKTT) in comparison to other task teams.
Dimpane appeared before parliament’s ad hoc committee on Tuesday, which has now moved from Cape Town to the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre in Pretoria.
Dimpane oversees the entire budget for the Saps.
She explained that the Saps currently have 11 active task teams.
PKTT budget
Dimpane explained that since 2018, the country has spent R435 million on the PKTT.
Over time, travel, subsistence, air and road travel are the biggest expenditures.
“When the operational environment agrees or picks up crime patterns in any area in the country, and they sit and discuss and analyse and come to the conclusion that they need to go and stabilise that situation, sometimes they will use the local guys, sometimes they will deploy from all over the country based on the decisions,” she explained.
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“Members of the task team are from various environments, and you need to accommodate them as and when they need to go and operate in KwaZulu-Natal or elsewhere in the country. You also need to ensure that there is food.
“They do work hard, so they do claim overtime in this particular period. It’s not anything that is strange; this is how the work of the police is done.”
PKTT vs other teams
Dimpane provided the committee with an expenditure report comparing six task teams.
Since its establishment in December 2023 until the end of September 2025, Operation Vala Umgodi has spent R1.1 billion.
However, this did not come from the Saps budget.
“This is mainly an operational or intervention that is funded, which does not come from our baseline. We are given the opportunity, as law enforcement agencies do from time to time, to approach the Criminal Assets Recovery Account (CARA) committee to request funding. It does not come from the Saps budget.
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“The reason why we would go and look for alternative funding is because of the financial constraints that we find ourselves in. We have experienced financial constraints due to budget reductions in our funding.”
The July 2021 unrest task team spent R950 million, which was taken from the Saps budget.
“We needed to reprioritise to ensure we contain that situation,” she explained.
There are three task teams, including the PKTT, Operation Lockdown and Operation Manguzi, which have been ongoing for years.
Value for money?
Dimpane said evaluations of these operations do take place from time to time.
“In 2024, my team approached the research unit for the impact studies on all these operations. There is an indication that work has been done on the Operation Lockdown and Vala uMgodi. Researchers are in the process of developing a value-for-money module that they can use. But they have cautioned me to say it is not an easy process and takes into account a number of variables and engages with a number of stakeholders.”
She said she has ongoing conversations with National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola about these operations and the resources required.
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“When it comes to the PKTT, I have had conversations with the national commissioner to say my understanding is that a task team is established for a specific period for a specific reason, and it is withdrawn.
“With the PKTT, we have noted that it is clearly dealing with something that is permanent. From a budgeting point of view, it becomes challenging when you receive applications almost every three months for five years. So, you’re unable to budget and project properly.
“It may be necessary that this becomes a permanent structure to deal with this permanent problem. I have suggested that we task the organisation development team with putting together a permanent structure and handing it to General Mkhwanazi to address this permanent problem.
“If it is a permanent structure, you’re able to resource it properly to support the team to do its job. It is doing great work.”
Mchunu and PKTT disbandment
Dimpane further told the committee that, although she made five presentations in the presence of suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and other executives during their orientation, none of the presentations addressed matters relating to the PKTT.
“I have never spoken to the minister about the PKTT budget.”
Dimpane said she was on leave when she learned about the disbandment.
When Mchunu testified, he listed budgetary constraints as one of the reasons he disbanded the PKTT. He also relied on Dimpane’s comment on an information note between Dumisani Khumalo and Masemola to reach a conclusion.
In that information note, Khumalo was requesting R94 million for the PKTT; R55 million was eventually granted.
Dimpane commented on the information note, noting the difficulties of budgeting for a temporary team and reiterating her call for it to be made permanent.
“I did not give anyone permission to utilise that information note. I was shocked to hear that information note being utilised in evidence in this regard, and nobody has asked me about the context of those comments I made on that information note,” said Dimpane.
“It was portrayed as if I were in support of the disbandment of the PKTT. It was taken out of context.
“I wouldn’t have advocated for the disbandment of the PKTT because I did not even know the operational work they’re doing.”
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