Vhembe SAPS held their historic restructuring farewell at Nandoni Dam on Friday. This came after the SAPS announced its restructuring process countrywide, which started on Monday, 22 January.

The SAPS has phased out 43 area offices, including Vhembe, an initiative that is aimed at intact crime prevention and visible policing. Only Nodal Points will remain in the former areas where only support services like auxiliary, legal and finance services, will be rendered. The rest of the staff in the former areas have already started their jobs in different police stations, following their redeployments on Monday. Former Vhembe SAPS Area Commissioner Joseph Maepa, who was in charge of 20 police stations in Vhembe, is now the Station Commissioner of Polokwane SAPS. All the police stations will now report directly to the SAPS Provincial Commissioner, Calvin Sengani.

SAPS members from different police stations in the former Vhembe area gathered at Nandoni Dam to celebrate their achievements while heading for the future which most of them are not certain of. Amongst other achievements, Vhembe has scooped countless awards in crime investigation, crime prevention and best area office, at both provincial and national levels.

When addressing hundreds of the former Vhembe SAPS Area, former area commissioner Joseph Maepa urged the guests to understand the restructuring process and never regard it as a monster. "Transformation and restructuring is not all about witch-hunting or looking down upon one’s position at work, but it is a process aimed at dishing out efficient services at grassroots level. We know that transformation is painful and it affects us both physically and psychologically, but we have to experience it because it is part of every department in the country. We are the agents of change and we are very privileged to have witnessed this happening with our own eyes. This means that we are part of a historic chapter in the new dispensation of the SAPS. We cannot resist change because when we joined the SAPS we made an undertaking that we would serve everywhere in the country, wherever our services were needed. We have to accept the situation and see what the future holds for us."

Maepa thanked his subordinates and different stakeholders who supported him during his tenure as Vhembe SAPS Area Commissioner. "I enjoyed the overwhelming support from all of you, which made Vhembe one of the best SAPS areas in the country. Your skills, potential and capabilities were the pillars of my strength. I couldn’t have succeeded in building up the Vhembe Area if it were not your efforts. Ours was a match from heaven and that is why we were always counted amongst the best in the country. I have done my part here and I am looking forward to doing the same in my new position. We have fought a winning war together and we are still going to do more, despite the fact that we will be far away from each other."

Director Wilson Ngobeni, who used to be Maepa’s assistant, will now lead the newly established local Nodal Point. Ngobeni praised Maepa for his distinctive leadership skills, which brought countless achievements to the former Vhembe SAPS Area. "He is a very unique, honest, polite, respectful and hardworking leader who always strives for success. He was not appointed by mistake or coincidence but he successfully displayed what success is all about. We will surely miss him."

Representatives from the Community Policing Forum (CPF), Adopt-a-Station Project, Retired SAPS Officers, Traditional leaders and Station Commissioners also gave speeches during the function.