Gauteng Traffic Wardens
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has defended the legality of the Gauteng Traffic Wardens after claims they were illegally formed. Lesufi cited a 2023 designation by Justice Minister Ronald Lamola recognising them as Peace Officers. He said the unit supports SAPS amid the province’s high police-to-citizen ratio.
Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi has moved to clear the air over the legality of the formation of the Gauteng Traffic Wardens, also referred to as Crime Prevention Wardens.
This comes after KwaZulu Natal, provincial commissioner, Lt-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanzi said the crime unit introduced by Lesufi over three years ago is an illegal unit, which should not have been allowed to happen.
The General, who has spent two days at the Ad Hoc Committee said the unit's formation, known as Amapanyaza, over two years ago, was illegal and should never have happened in the first place.
Mkhwanazi, who delivered his testimony before the Ad Hoc Committee set up to investigate allegations of political interference following revelations made by Mkhwanazi in July said even though the Premier had good intentions in forming this unit, this was still an illegal entity.
“I can confirm that I raised that in the [police] BOC [board of commissioners] and I said this is illegal. It is against the law; the Premier must be advised. He’s got good intentions, but it cannot be done. “The law doesn’t allow it. The very same senior managers in the police said, ‘No just leave the Premier alone. We like his proposal’,” Mkhwanazi told committee members on Wednesday.
On Thursday, in a statement, Lesufi accused Mkhwanazi of making sweeping statement, saying his office has no intention to litigate such statements.
"The provincial government has no intention of litigating sweeping statements. However, it rejects the assertion that the formation of the Traffic Wardens showed contempt for the rule of law and categorically dismisses the allegation that the Gauteng Traffic Wardens are an illegal entity," he said.
Lesufi revealed that the unit has been given legislative provisions by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, sometime in 2023.
"In December 2023, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Mr. Ronald Lamola, officially designated the Crime Prevention Wardens as Peace Officers in terms of Section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1977. This legal designation granted them the same legal status as Gauteng traffic officers. The Gauteng Traffic Wardens initiative was always grounded in the principles of the South African Constitution, which mandates cooperative governance and requires all spheres of government, national and provincial, to "cooperate with one another in mutual trust and good faith," he said.
Lesufi added that the creation of the unit was taken after statistics revealed a worrying police to-citizens ratio, prompting the provincial government to act to safeguard the citizens of the province
who are suffering under the yoke of crime and other criminal elements in the province.
"The provincial government created the Traffic Wardens program to support and assist the national police (SAPS) in their duties, not to replace them or interfere with the authority of other government bodies. This was in response to statistics that showed that the police-to-citizen ratio in the province was one officer for every 541 residents in a population of about 16 million and growing," he added.
