Vuyo Mhaga
The Gauteng Provincial Government under the leadership of Premier Panyaza Lesufi has placed the fight against crime, lawlessness and vandalism at the top of its agenda. To show commitment to this fight, the provincial government is unleashing all the resources at its disposal to tackle crime.
According to the sixth Quality of Life Survey 2020/21, released in September 2021 by the Gauteng City-Region Observatory which is a partnership between Gauteng Provincial Government, University of the Witwatersrand and University of Johannesburg levels of crime are high, and issues of safety and security are of great concern to residents of Gauteng. The Survey enables the provincial government to make governance and policy decisions based on evidence and data.
One of the first decisions Premier Lesufi took at the beginning of the 7th administration is to strengthen the fight against crime, corruption and lawlessness was to move the Department of Community Safety to the Office of the Premier. He did this to show his administration’s seriousness in fighting crime.
Last year when the provincial government was looking at ways to augment the crime-fighting efforts of law enforcement officers across Gauteng whilst tackling the issue of youth unemployment in the province, it established of the Crime Prevention Wardens initiative which was later named Gauteng Traffic Wardens.
The Gauteng Traffic Wardens have received extensive basic training. Some were trained by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) at its military base. The wardens are deployed on a 24/7 shift basis in different wards and crime hotspots under the supervision of SAPS, Gauteng Traffic and Metro Police Departments.
Through targeted deployments, the wardens enhance and complement the work of law enforcement officials across the province, and this accelerates our fight against crime, corruption, lawlessness and vandalism. Some of the Gauteng Traffic Wardens have been trained on fire-arm competence, crowd control, while others are part of the anti-land invasion and infrastructure vandalism and others as drone pilots.
The wardens are responsible for ensuring police visibility at the ward level. They work closely with Community Patrollers to educate the public about ward-based policing.
They further strengthen the existing law enforcement officials in the fight against crime at the ward level. They use e-Policing solutions such as drones and helicopters to eliminate criminal elements in the various Gauteng communities. In addition, Gauteng government has been deploying advanced technologies, including high-quality CCTV cameras capable of recognising facial features in key community areas.
To date, a total of 144 CCTV cameras have been installed in high-crime areas across the province. The cameras have been used to monitor crime hotspots. To complement existing CCTV cameras, the provincial government will add 10 000 cameras (6000 from Vuma Intel, and 4000 from SANRAL) during current (2024-2025) financial year.
Also, the provincial government has increased its crime-fighting budget from R 750 million to over R2.7 billion over the year.
The provincial government has also emphasised that to fight crime in the province successfully, it must work with others. There is a need for a multi-sectoral approach that includes police, the private sector as well as members of the community. Therefore, we urge members of the community to report all elements of crime. By working together, we can ensure safe and secure Gauteng communities.
Vuyo Mhaga is the Gauteng Provincial Government Spokesperson. He writes in his personal capacity.
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