"A true leader does not delegate and remain behind without taking part in the task himself. Determination, commitment, team work and proper planning will obviously pave your way to the top."

So says Vhembe SAPS Area Commissioner Joseph Maepa, who has been voted the Best Limpopo Area Commissioner for the second consecutive year. He received a trophy and a cash prize of R4 000 from the Provincial Commissioner, Calvin Sengani, during the Provincial Commissioner’s Excellence Awards in Polokwane last week.

Armed with 24 years experience in the police force, Maepa’s hard work and commitment were rewarded through his appointment as Vhembe SAPS Area Commissioner in April 2000. Under his leadership, the Vhembe SAPS emerged as a tall man among dwarfs when they were counted among the best in the country, after winning a Platinum Award at the Impumelelo Excellence Awards held in Cape Town last year. During the competition, the area was also awarded a R75 000 cash prize and a certificate.

The legacy continued when the Premier of Limpopo, Sello Moloto, presented the Vhembe SAPS with a Gold Award for second best service delivery team for their distinctive social crime prevention programme in Polokwane last week. The prize goes with a cheque of R30 000.

For all these achievements, Maepa attributes the successes to all members of the Vhembe SAPS who worked as a team on the common goal of crime eradication. "We work as a team because we know that success follows hard work and dedication is the only recipe for outstanding achievement. Above all, we will never forget to thank our communities out there because without their cooperation, our dreams could have been never realized."

On his nomination as the Best SAPS Area Commissioner for the second year in succession, Maepa says: "As a leader, I give directions, rather than command my fellow coworkers. This is only through their unending support that I have found myself winning this award. However, I make sure that I do not procrastinate when doing my work and I also stick to my work plan with effort and determination. I have always told myself since my youth that I am the best and I always strive to be the best performer whenever I’m doing my work."