The Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng demands that Premier Panyaza Lesufi take decisive action to ensure that Crime Prevention Wardens, also known as Amapanyaza face consequences for instilling fear and wreaking havoc across Gauteng communities.
A recent incident has surfaced on social media, showing wardens violently kicking a young and defenceless homeless man. This is not an isolated incident; last year, crime wardens were seen assaulting a woman without provocation.
The DA Gauteng has consistently raised concerns about the Amapanyazas’ lack of training, oversight, and professional management. These incidents validate our worries and highlight the lack of discipline and compassion within their ranks.
Premier Lesufi must stop flooding our communities with wardens who lack training and management but ride around town in fancy BMWs, as they have failed to show real reduction in crime and become a law unto themselves. The DA will be tabling questions to Premier Lesufi in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to ascertain how many formal complaints have been lodged against the Amapanyaza since the inception of this programme and how many of these have led to prosecutions.
The DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would not have poorly trained wardens and where wardens did cause trouble we would investigate and prosecute those implicated. We would also ensure mandatory de-escalation training for all wardens. Furthermore, the DA would establish clear operational guidelines to define the scope and limits of warden powers and have monthly performance reports to monitor their effectiveness.