Creator of kitskonstabels and puppet mayors, Lesufi must fall

Any genuine attempt to combat crime in GP (Gangsters’ Paradise) is overdue and should be welcomed. Regrettably, the crime prevention wardens paraded by premier Panyaza Lesufi have not filled Gautengers with confidence.

If the first 3 000-odd have been trained, it’s not evident in the way they march, salute, wear berets or tie bootlaces. First appearances matter. We have not been given a breakdown of how the R450 million of our money has been allocated but whatever went on training is wasted. Yes, our money as taxpayers.

There is no such thing as government money. While ill-fitting uniforms look as cheap as the training – even if we paid a fortune for them – the 200-plus cars don’t.

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Where else can rookie, badly trained cops be issued with weapons and a fleet of BMWs? Worryingly, these wardens have been given authority similar to actual police officers, including broad powers of arrest and evidence-gathering. Guns, fancy wheels and poor preparation. What could go wrong?

Columnist Peter Bruce tweeted, “@BMW_ SA should be ashamed of itself. These cars will soon be in the garages of the connected and powerful.”

We need to know how much of the R450 million went on the BMWs and what other commitments were made for these vehicles? Who will keep track? The cars have attracted attention in the world’s most unequal society, where they will be used in townships and informal settlements.

Journalism trainer Paddi Clay described the parade as a “Potemkin Village on wheels”.

Grigory Potemkin, lover of 18th-century Russian Empress Catherine, was famed for building a fake portable village to impress her on her journeys, creating a misleading impression of how well it was going in the empire.

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Similar intentions underlie Lesufi’s showboating. He did not consult the province’s metro police forces. For example, Joburg’s former safety MMC Mgcini Tshwaku accused Lesufi of “working in silo[s]” … “as you all keep on undermining us”.

The SA Police Service (Saps) in Gauteng is dysfunctional and under-resourced. Shortage of vehicles is common. It is not difficult to imagine how Saps officers, who sometimes have to use their own money to repair state vehicles, might feel about freshly minted clowns cruising around in Beemers.

I agree with Herman Mashaba: “This is the biggest insult to our law enforcement agencies, in particular @SAPoliceService members who are today without proper vehicles in the majority of police stations.”

While the state’s crime-fighting abilities are lacking, the answer is not to spend millions on palookas in flashy cars. The Saps needs serious intervention under someone more competent than buffoonish Minister Bheki Cele.

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Lesufi is accustomed to wasting our money.

As education MEC, Lesufi spent R431 million in three months “sanitising” schools during Covid. It is iniquitous that he decides where so much of our money goes. He also uses position – and our money – to decide who becomes Joburg mayor. Here, too, his judgment has been appalling.

Creator of kitskonstabels and puppet mayors, Lesufi must fall. His sloppy saluters are out of step.