News24.com | Gauteng safety committee calls on communities to collaborate with recently deployed wardens

The Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi's recently launched crime-busting unit. Photo by Aaron Dube

• The Gauteng community safety committee has urged residents to welcome the newly deployed wardens and assist in fighting crime collectively. 
• The DA has written to the provincial legislature to find out what procedures had been followed by Premier Panyaza Lesufi with regards to the crime-busting unit.
• ActionSA's Herman Mashaba has expressed concern over the limited and brief training offered to the wardens who are equipped with guns and tasked with protecting Gauteng.

The Gauteng legislature has come out in defence of a recently launched crime prevention unit.

The Gauteng community safety committee said the project would likely reduce crime throughout the province, despite widespread criticism. 

This after the deployment of 4 000 wardens in townships, informal settlements, and hostels on Monday.

On Wednesday, the committee said the unit was a "replica" of street committees, usually led by residents, and insisted the government was trying to assist in fighting crime.

The community safety department has spent R450 million on the initiative. 

Concerned about the backlash and overreliance on the government to tackle crime throughout Gauteng, the committee urged residents to work "hand in hand" with the government.

READ | Challenges limit Gauteng govt's 6 000 crime-prevention warden target

On Sunday, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko held a parade to introduce the wardens who will work alongside law enforcement.

News24 previously reported the wardens had only undergone three months of training and physical assessments.

They had also completed modules relating to the criminal justice system and Constitution. 

Following the parade, the programme was not only criticised by the public but political parties as well.

The DA in Gauteng described the wardens as "inexperienced" and "ill-equipped," advising Lesufi to learn from the DA-led Western Cape Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) programme.

In a statement on Tuesday, DA community safety spokesperson Crezane Bosch said the party had submitted questions to the Gauteng legislature to know if Lesufi followed national regulatory processes. 

She added the "successful" LEAP programme had undergone "strict regulatory processes", adding: "If Gauteng did not follow the processes, Lesufi's programme needs to be stopped until it complies with the national legislation."

Bosch said:

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba also chipped in on Twitter following the launch, saying he had concerns about the project and labelled it "a recipe for disaster".

His tweet read: "I have serious concerns about this initiative by @Lesufi. One cannot take unemployed youth and give them 3 months of training, equip them with guns, and then deploy them to fight crime. And without an operational command centre to oversee them."