Lt. Gen. Puleng Dimpane, Acting Police Commissioner. (Photo: GCIS).
Lt. Gen. Puleng Dimpane, a senior official in the South African Police Service (SAPS), now holds one of the most powerful positions in the service.
This week she was named acting national police commissioner “to ensure stability and continuity in the police service”.
Dimpane (49) is currently the divisional commissioner for financial management services at the police. She is also the first female officer to hold the position of chief financial officer in the history of the SAPS.
Her appointment follows shortly after gen. Fannie Masemola was temporarily suspended as national police commissioner this week, pending the criminal case against him.
The charges against Masemola relate to the alleged irregular award of a contract amounting to about R228 million to Medicare 24, a company belonging to Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. Masemola has already appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court and faces four charges of breaching the Public Financial Management Act.
However, Dimpane is not a new face in leadership circles. She has served in the police force for nearly two decades, 18 of which have been at senior management level.
Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa and Lt. Gen. Puleng Dimpane, now Acting National Police Commissioner. (Photo: GCIS)
She joined the public service in 2002 as an assistant public accountant. She has extensive experience in the field of auditing and accounting.
She joined the police in 2007 as a senior superintendent, responsible for internal audit in the Free State. In 2018, she was promoted to the position of chief financial officer at the police’s head office in Pretoria.
(Photo: GCIS)
After six years in this position, she was appointed as chief financial officer in the department of economic development and tourism in the Free State. She later returned to the police where she served as the deputy provincial commissioner of asset management until her promotion to the position of divisional commissioner in financial management services in 2019.
Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa said this week that Dimpane has a good reputation for professionalism and integrity.
“I am confident that she has the qualities and reputation needed to provide effective leadership to the police in this challenging period,” Ramaphosa assured South Africans on Thursday afternoon.