The Gauteng provincial legislature’s portfolio committee on community safety has called for the province’s Crime Prevention Wardens, popularly known as AmaPanyaza, not to be disbanded but repurposed.

The provincial government is yet to reclassify the wardens after Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka recommended the reclassification after finding that the establishment of the wardens was irregular.

Gcaleka ’s investigation also found that Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi had no legal basis on which to recruit, train or deploy the wardens for police duties.

The wardens, also referred to as Gauteng traffic wardens and AmaPanyaza, have been allocated a significant amount of money over the past year and a half by the provincial government.

According to official government documents, R78 million was paid in 2023/24 for the partial delivery of motor vehicles procured for traffic wardens and invoices for these items will be paid in the 2024/25 financial year.

Another R32m relates to the unspent funds that were paid in advance to the SA National Defence Force for the training of the wardens.

The department of community safety spent R17.1m on uniforms for the traffic wardens and R23.2m was allocated for their ongoing training of traffic wardens.

The training was expected to be completed in the 2024/25 financial year.

Gauteng provincial legislature’s community safety portfolio committee chairperson Dr. Bandile Masuku said Gcaleka’s report reaffirmed and reassured its stance around the finalisation of the legal issues surrounding the peace officer status of the wardens.

“This is what other academics have actually picked up and we agreed with them that in terms of their impact and effectiveness is positive since their introduction but what has been a challenge is their legal status and standing in the whole crime-fighting efforts,” he said.

Masuku said the crime prevention wardens were one form of strengthening community policing.

“They can actually work in all the provinces depending on the situation. They can be adapted to different situations,” he explained.

”We don’t actually welcome their disbandment. We actually say they must be repurposed in a manner that will strengthen community policing”.

He said the wardens add to law enforcement visibility and in intelligence gathering.

Gcaleka has made adverse finding against the establishment of the crime prevention wardens and ordered Lesufi to take appropriate steps in line with the executive and oversight powers conferred to him by the Constitution to ensure implementation and finalisation within 180 days of receipt of her report.

Gcaleka said the crime prevention wardens must be retained within the province as traffic wardens in compliance with the National Road Traffic Act and as concurred by Lesufi together with the ministers of police and justice and constitutional development.

The complaint against the crime prevention wardens was lodged by Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa director Advocate Paul Hoffman, in September 2023 following their establishment in June the same year.

In his complaint, Hoffman accused Lesufi of having taken it upon himself to paint outside the lines of the law by which he is bound, in the way he has gone about establishing the crime prevention wardens.

Hoffman said the regulatory framework applicable and the rule of law would appear to preclude Lesufi from establishing the crime prevention wardens but he remained unrepentant and persisted in the illegal deployment of the wardens.

He added that there was maladministration in the establishment and deployment of the wardens.

loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za

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