Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has announced that the provincial government will disband its crime prevention wardens, known as the “AmaPanyaza”, to allow members to undergo training to become provincial traffic officers.

Lesufi made the announcement during a media briefing in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

The decision follows ongoing confusion around the wardens’ legitimacy and the scope of their powers, which first emerged in 2023.

However, Lesufi said the disbandment would not happen immediately.

“The rollout will be done in phases,” he said.

Lesufi maintained that the initiative had been designed to strengthen and support the police, allowing them to focus on serious crimes, while the wardens enhanced visible policing and built positive, daily interactions with communities – despite ongoing legal criticism.

This development follows comments made two weeks ago by KZN provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi during his testimony before Parliament’s ad-hoc committee. 

He said that he had previously raised the issue of the wardens’ legality during a meeting of the police board of commissioners.

Mkhwanazi said while Lesufi had good intentions, AmaPanyaza should not, by law, exist.

Lesufi responded to the criticism.

“The rollout of traffic wardens has followed a meticulous, legally compliant sequence to ensure professionalism and accountability.”

He said the legal classification gave the wardens the same legal standing as Gauteng traffic officers pending the completion of their training.

“As a support unit, the Gauteng traffic wardens are designed to strengthen the efforts of existing law enforcement authorities,” Lesufi said.

“They are peace officers with specific authority under the CPA and were never meant to replace the national police service.”

“Instead, they assist law enforcement in preventing crime and enforcing laws.”

He said, “The programme is legal because it uses provincial wardens to assist the national police, thereby strengthening enforcement without overstepping constitutional authority.”

Lesufi said that even prior to their legal designation, candidate wardens had proactively begun training with various law enforcement agencies, including the Gauteng Traffic Police, Metro Police Departments, and the SANDF.

“To date, the effort has resulted in significant upskilling of these wardens,” he said.

“To enhance professionalism and service delivery, approximately 8,867 traffic wardens from the five corridors have completed a multifaceted training programme covering critical areas such as criminal law, law of evidence, personnel ethics, the prevention of brutality, firearm training, and the service of protection orders.”

Lesufi said after the peace officer designation, which he said gave traffic wardens the same legal standing as Gauteng traffic officers, it was necessary to reconfigure their training and develop new procedures to integrate them into the province’s law enforcement framework.

“In response to this new reconfiguration, during the tabling of the Department of Community Safety budget vote at the Gauteng legislature on Wednesday, July 13, 2024, we announced that the wardens would be migrated to become Gauteng Traffic Officers,” he said.

He announced that the wardens will cease to exist in the current format. 

“This will be done in a phased approach.”

He added that they would now be repurposed to be part of the Gauteng Traffic Police, the Special Law Enforcement Unit (SLEU), and other strategic security partners.

“To do so, they will be subject to extensive and intensive training for the next 18 to 36 months,” he said.

Lesufi also said those who could not qualify for this training would be assigned to various municipalities for bylaw enforcement or the provision of security services in various government departments, after acquiring the necessary training.

simom.majqdibodu@iol.co.za

IOL

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