Tough job for new top cop
BRIGADIER Zwelibanzi Nyanda has been appointed as the new chief of Metro police.
The former head of the SA Police Service crime intelligence’s operational response and border policing units will have his work cut out when he takes over Chris Ngcobo’s office in August.
His charges are easy to spot in blue shirts, brown trousers, black leather boots and baseball caps sporting a badge, but the service they provide isn’t as visible as their attire. Their mandate includes traffic policing, by-law enforcement and crime prevention.
Nyanda takes over a team of officers who seem to work as and when they are in the mood, and who have lots to do to win over the confidence and support of the public.
When traffic lights go on the blink, you can bet the last litre of petrol in your car’s tank there would be no Metro police officer in sight.
Don’t count on their assistance wither when traffic congestion on roads such as William Nicol Drive, Jan Smuts Avenue, Grayston Road, New Road, Olifantsfontein Road and Oxford Road requires good management.
Traffic during peak hours flows better when being managed at problem intersections, but Metro police officers are never there. Driving in Randburg business district is a breeze when the officers feel like working near the taxi rank.
Motorists in areas such as Midrand, Sandton and Fourways roads are notorious for their illegal manoeuvres to get ahead of the traffic, even driving outside the road or facing oncoming traffic. They do so because they know they would get away with it as Metro police officers are only interested in enforcing speed limit laws.
Despite the regulations on outdoor advertising and informal trading being neatly filed at the Metro Centre in Braamfontein, the men and women tasked with enforcing them seem unaware what has to be done.
The ward-based policing strategy Joburg 10 Plus was to see the deployment of Metro police officers for each area, but its implementation has been disastrous and impressive only on paper.
Hopefully, Nyanda will lead Metro police to a new era where they will offer more than just being a money-making scheme for the City of Johannesburg.
