CAR guards working in New Germany will now be monitored and their details recorded to reduce crime and make this job professional.
Pinetown SAPS communications officer, W/O Muzi Maphumulo, said there have been many instances where car guards have been linked to crimes such as remote jamming and hijacking.
“The car guards’ job is to look after cars and the properties they work in which is the reason we have started this initiative so that someone can account for that area should anything happen.”
Maphumulo said the car guards operating in the areas such as Chelsea, Qashana Khuzwayo (Shepstone) and Escom Road will be monitored by police and the CPF.
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“All their details will be recorded and we will regulate which post belongs to who. We want them to work together with us and report any suspicious activity. They will also be given a card with all their details and a number which the community can use to report them if they are doing something illegal. The community will also have a right to ask for their cards and check their credentials.”
Pinetown CPF chairman, Tony da Canha, said this initiative is not only for the New Germany area as it will be rolled out to other areas, the next one being Pinetown.
“We have spoken to the car guards and told them if they continue working here, they need to be decent and clean. The car guards should not demand money. We are also trying to get sponsorship so we can get them proper uniforms,” Da Canha said.
Maphumulo added that motorists still have a responsibility to physically check that their vehicle doors are locked.
Car guards need designated areas
One of the car guards, Billy Ntombela said he resorted to being a car guard after dropping out of school because of drugs.
He said he always wanted to get into the music business, but due to his drug abuse, he messed up and is now a car guard.
“I might have gotten into drugs because of peer pressure, but I do not blame anyone for how I have turned out as I could have chosen not to smoke,” he said.
Ntombela said he cannot get a proper job and is working on trying to change his life as he does not take drugs anymore. On a bad day, Ntombela said he makes about R170, but on a good day, he gets more than R300.
“I have been trying to save money to continue my dream of making music. I am a musician by nature and I can write any kind of music, I am not limited to any specific genre.”
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He said not all car guards are drug addicts, but they have all been painted with the same brush as some smoke in full view of the passers-by.
The challenges the car guards complained mostly about is that they do not have designated areas. “We hope that this initiative will formalise our positions and areas so we can all work together peacefully,” said Ntombela.
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