Traffic Officers.
Joburg Major Herman Mashaba on Thursday said the City of Johannesburg had passed a resolution to boost the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) with a further 180 Traffic Wardens.
“The City is growing at a substantial rate of about 3 000 new residents per month, as more and more people from around the world choose to make Johannesburg their home, and this rapid growth in population has necessitated that the City increase and improve capacity in all areas in order to deliver services efficiently and effectively,” Mashaba said in a statement.
“This is part of ‘Diphetogo’, the City’s multi-party government’s initiative to improve the lives of our people by allocating a bigger share of funds only to priority projects that touch the lives of residents in a meaningful way.”
The major said public safety was essential in maintaining stable economic growth and attracting investment to the City, which was why JMPD had been spearheading the restoration of law and order across the City.
“Since the launch of Operation Buya Mthetho, a multi-disciplinary operation aimed at restoring law and order, more than 500 unroadworthy and illegal minibus taxis have been impounded by JMPD.”
Mashaba said the metro police’s K9 Narcotics and Tactical Unit had effected 1 193 arrests, recovering 123 illegal firearms, 136 kilograms of drugs and more than 1 000 hijacked vehicles.
“Noting that safety challenges in the City remain a mammoth task, it is important to ensure that there are adequate policing resources to serve its residents.”
The major said the City would be recruiting about 180 traffic wardens from the former Extended Public Works Program employees who were previously trained to perform traffic pointsman duties.
“The Department of Public Safety identified the need to capacitate traffic wardens with additional powers in order to allow them to perform at optimum level.”
Mashaba said JMPD Chief of Police David Tembe had engaged with the Gauteng Provincial Government and Transport MEC Dr. Ismail Vadi and had agreed to this initiative.
He said the duties of the traffic wardens would include stopping a vehicle, when in uniform, regulate and control traffic upon any public road and give such directions as may be necessary, and request any person to give his/ her name, address, and other particulars or any process which were required for identification purposes if the traffic warden suspected the person had committed an offence.
“The recruitment process will commence shortly and qualifying beneficiaries in terms of this first Traffic Warden Recruitment Program will be contacted to present themselves for the relevant processes. Once the recruitment program is completed, the City will see 180 traffic wardens servicing the residents of Johannesburg.”
– African News Agency (ANA)
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