1500 newly-recruited Metro cops left in limbo

The 1500 newly-recruited Joburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officers who were supposed to be patrolling the streets have been sitting at home on full pay for three months.

The officers, who graduated from the JMPD academy two days before former DA mayor Herman Mashaba resigned in November last year, claim they are being used as political pawns by the DA and ANC.

New mayor Geoff Makhubo claimed earlier this year, when he made them return to the academy for retraining, that they were not ready, but had been “pushed through the academy to bolster someone’s personal agenda at the time”.

One officer, whose name is known to Metrowatch but who did not want to be identified, said: “We, as officers, have reason to believe that maladministration is being committed by the JMPD academy and its management.

“We were instructed to return to the academy after graduation because apparently we are not competent, whereas there are files of evidence that contradicts this claim. Mayor Geoff Makhubo addressed the media without addressing us about these allegations. When asked about these allegations, he has been quiet,” he said.

The officer also claims they have received incomplete uniforms, no firearms, no bulletproof vests, no pepper spray and no form of protection.

“When we ask management why we were asked to return, they give no answers but are forcing us to redo practical modules that they say we have completed and passed.

“We have been sitting at home for the past three months, getting a full salary while members of public are pleading for more law enforcement officers. The department is wasting money,” he said.

After being recalled to the academy, they new officers were told not to wear their uniforms, but instead to wear the black-and-white uniform for trainees.

They were also given branded caps with the words “JMPD trainee”.

“Yet as far as we are concerned, we are fully fledged officers, having passed all the tests,” he said.

“Instead of giving us our full uniforms and allowing us to work, the ANC continues to play political games with us because we completed our course under DA management. We are tired and we want this matter to be taken further because even our unions are not helping us. We no longer know who to turn to,” he said.

A former member of the mayoral committee for public safety, Michael Sun, is trying to help them.

“These officers are being kept in the dark on the fate of their careers. They have been called for training, but they do not know what training they are getting. Some of the trainees’ contracts came to an end on June30 and they do not know their fate,” he said.

However, the JMPD says that an evaluation conducted by Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) found the officers did not meet standard requirements for a metropolitan police officer.

JMPD chief superintendent Wayne Minnaar said: “Hence a decision was taken to recall all 1500 officers who passed out in November 2019.

“They were notified by chief superintendent Abraham Pitso of the JMPD Academy that training will be done in groups of approximately 240 due to Covid-19 regulations and to prevent overcrowding. None of these officers will be dismissed unless there is a specific reason.

“They will be issued with full uniforms when RTMC is satisfied that they meet standard requirements. This will be for their own safety and so that they can benefit the community which they need to serve.”

@annacox