A Gauteng Crime Prevention Warden decries poor training, dangerous work, post-election contracts

25 Jun 2024

A Crime Prevention Warden has highlighted substandard training, inadequate benefits and dangerous working conditions, alleging that contract renewals were delayed until after the elections to sway votes.

A Gauteng Crime Prevention Warden has voiced frustration over inadequate training, meagre benefits and dangerous working conditions.

“I am part of the first cohort,” said the warden, who requested anonymity. “The premier promised us permanent positions and adequate salaries to prevent bribery, yet we are still on stipends.”

They earned R6,306 under their first contract, which was valid until April. The warden alleged that contract renewals were delayed until after the elections to sway their votes.

“From the 1st of May we were working without a contract, and then the 29th of May just after everyone had voted, a message was sent out to the group that everyone from the first cohort must come and sign their new contract. How come suddenly the contract was there?

“I believe that the contract was there at the head office all along, they just wanted us to cast our votes first before handing us the new contracts as they knew that we wouldn’t vote for the ANC in Gauteng. [Premier Lesufi] Panyaza & MEC Faith Mazibuko … used us to get votes for the province. A day after the elections, we signed new contracts of R7,450.75.”

Gauteng Department of Community Safety official Pinkie Numa said the issuing of contracts was delayed because the department needed to verify all the wardens.

“The purpose of the verification was to ensure that there are no ghost employees as the department employed thousands of employees within a short space of time. This process was concluded on the 27th of May 2024, and as such, the contracts were signed from the 30th of May 2024,” she said.

Training concerns

The warden said they had to pay for transportation and meals during their training, which took place in Springs.

“In March and April [2023], we were transporting ourselves to Springs; that time we had no money, we were not working, so we were not prepared for all those things and it was just a mess,” he said.

Numa said meal and transportation provisions were discontinued after the wardens were given stipends and access to motor vehicles.

The warden criticised the quality of training. “We just did drills, that was it, nothing much there. After training I didn’t feel adequately prepared to be a warden, not at all,” he said.

“The second cohort’s training was like ours because they also did just drills and they wrote the RTMC [Road Traffic Management Course] and they told us that module will give us the certificate for peace officer, which many of us have been waiting for since last year.”

Numa said: “It is a normal occurrence for a trainee to feel overwhelmed for the first time when they have to do practical work.”

She said the wardens received sufficient basic training which included:

Crime prevention concepts, theories and approaches.

Physical training.

Theoretical training, including being taught the code of conduct for traffic wardens, the disciplinary code and procedure for public servants, radio speech and procedure, tactical survival skills, a traffic control module and how to deal with land occupations.

Principles of criminal law.

Criminal procedure law including the powers, duties and responsibilities of peace officers, an understanding of domestic violence, the use of pepper spray and firearm control legislation.

“The second phase of their training will include traffic warden training, firearm training and all other specialised training such as drone pilots, advanced driving, etc. On-the-job training of wardens is continuous and delivered by various training providers,” said Numa.

Sizwe Pamla, the spokesperson for Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi, said the wardens were also trained by metro police departments in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane, as well as by the Road Traffic Management Corporation.

In February, the wardens started training under the supervision of the South African National Defence Force, a decision that sparked concern from an expert on justice and violence prevention.

In December, the wardens, colloquially known as amaPanyaza, were granted full police powers by Justice Minister Ronald Lamola. They then did a traffic warden course.

“This training is currently being rolled out for cohorts one and two, as cohort three has completed the training. The South African Police Service is mandated to certify peace officers, following the successful completion of the peace officers’ training by a credible institution. This will enable the peace officers to execute their duties as outlined in Section 334 of [the] Criminal Procedure Act,” said Numa.

Facing daily perils

The warden said they were exposed to danger daily.

“In my area, most of the time we would do the operations at N12, and N12 is like a squatter camp, where there are a lot of zama zamas so anything can happen there,” he said.

The wardens sometimes conduct joint operations with SAPS members, but the warden said this did not make them feel safer.

“SAPS members have firearms; we don’t have firearms. What happens if someone shoots one of the wardens? They can’t react because they are not armed. Some of us have bulletproof vests but that is not enough,” he said.

Numa said the majority of the wardens had been issued with bulletproof vests.

“Over 1,000 wardens have undergone firearm training for theory and competency. The firearm roll-out process will only be done upon the certification of the wardens as peace officers by SAPS,” she said.

In response to wardens’ grievances about working conditions and benefits, Numa said there had been various engagements with wardens, including a recent meeting led by MEC Mazibuko.

However, the warden who spoke to Daily Maverick said that when they raised grievances, the wardens were frequently told that the issues were due to their lack of training.

“One thing they will tell us, especially the first cohort, is that we don’t have training, as if it is our fault. They say we still have to go for training. We were supposed to go last year but we don’t know what happened and this year in January we also thought the same, but now it is June and nothing,” he said.

“What we get paid for the danger we put ourselves under on a daily basis is not fair. If we are trainees there’s no need for us to be working 12-hour shifts and night shifts with no benefits.”

Numa said cohorts one and two would be trained in July. She said that if the wardens had concerns, there was a grievance process that should be followed.

“However, the wardens have been afforded an opportunity to establish a forum that will meet with management to address the perceived communication gaps and lack of responsiveness,” she said.

Plans are under way to integrate wardens into the Gauteng Traffic Police. DM

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Training concerns

Facing daily perils