Mayor Herman Mashaba visits JMPD trainees
JOHANNESBURG – City of Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba visited JMPD Trainees that are getting ready to become law enforcement officers.
The long-awaited 1 500 Metro police trainees expected to improve the capacity of the force will graduate on 6 November following delays.
This was revealed by City of Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba when he embarked on an oversight visit to the JMPD Academy in Booysens on 17 July. Mashaba was accompanied by the MMC for Public Safety, Michael Sun and acting head of Public Safety David Tembe.
The trainees were recruited in early 2017 and were expected to graduate last month. However, the training programme was extended for another six months ending in October this year. “The recruitment of 1 500 trainees at once has never happened in the history of this country. There was an issue of new administration and leadership taking over which might have led to the delays. As much as there were delays, it’s not a train smash as they will be graduating in three months’ time,” said Mashaba.
He added that the trainees were receiving better training than the current operating officers. Furthermore, the Joburg Metro Police Department would conduct a skills audit on the existing officers to ensure that their skills are on par.
According to Mashaba, the city was experiencing a breakdown in the rule of law which resulted to budgetary adjustments in 2017 and recruitment of the 1 500 trainees. “As you qualify to be officers, it would not be an easy job. It is your responsibility to protect citizens of the city and create an environment that attracts investment to address the problem of unemployment in our city,” added Mashaba.
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