News24 | Christmas comes early as SAPS promotes thousands to higher ranks to ‘boost morale’

More than 9 000 SAPS officers were promoted to higher ranks at the beginning of December.

More than 9 000 police officers have been given a promotion as “an early Christmas gift” - an idea by the South African Police Service (SAPS) to boost morale.

The SAPS said in a statement on Saturday that it had promoted 9 548 police officers to higher ranks as part of the organisation’s human capital strategy, “which aims to boost morale and the well-being of our men and women in blue”.

Promotions, which were effective from 1 December, were given to officers who had been in a rank for more than 10 years. Police believe that the grade progression will also retain critical skills and enhance service delivery.

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National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola said the promotions served as a significant form of recognition and reward for hard work and dedication.

“This is an early Christmas gift for our dedicated and loyal personnel… This acknowledgement will hopefully boost morale and encourage our men and women in blue to perform at their best, leading to increased productivity and overall job satisfaction,” he said.

Masemola added that the promotions were part of an ongoing strategic investment to ensure it retained skills and “ensure that we nurture and develop our internal pool talent for future leadership roles within the organisation.”

Crime Intelligence operatives, detectives, as well as uniformed and support personnel were among those who benefitted from the promotions.

According to SAPS, thousands more police officers are awaiting promotions. They will be announced “soon”, it said.