Today's Labour News

newsThis news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.

Calls for Lesufi’s removal after Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens disbanded

Details

PanyazaLesufiDaily Maverick reports that DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga announced on Thursday that the party would be tabling a motion of no confidence against Premier Lesufi “for his reckless and irresponsible implementation of the failed amaPanyaza project.”

Gauteng’s Crime Prevention Wardens (CPWs) are commonly known as “amaPanyaza”. Msimanga said: “The time for lies, deception and exploiting the plight of thousands of desperate job seekers in Gauteng must come to an end. This is the end of the road for Premier Lesufi.” Since the establishment of the CPWs in early 2023, there has been criticism that they were unlawful. In a report released this week, Public Protector (PP) Kholeka Gcaleka concluded that the CPWs were not lawfully established. Hours before the PP’s report was released, Lesufi announced that the CPWs would be disbanded.

On Wednesday, Lesufi defended the CPWs, saying they “played a critical role in visible policing in the Johannesburg CBD, major events and township areas”. He indicated the 8,800 CPWs would be disbanded over 36 months and integrated into the Gauteng Traffic Police, as recommended by the PP. Those who did not qualify would be reassigned to municipalities or government departments. The provincial government has not indicated how much amaPanyaza had cost to date, but the DA’s Msimanga said the cost had run into the billions. “We are estimating that the cost of this exercise is way above R1.5-billion and still growing. But we are not looking at this only from what would’ve been paid in salaries/stipends, uniforms, vehicles, ‘training’ etc., but we are also looking at the lawsuits against the amaPanyazas which are still pending,” Msimanga said. ActionSA, meanwhile, said the disbandment of the crime wardens was an admission that the effort had failed to curb crime.

  • Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Bheki C. Simelane at Daily Maverick
  • Lees ook, AmaPanyaza-blaps: Mosie van wantroue wag op Lesufi, by Maroela Media


Get other news reports at the SA LabourNews home page