The Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens better known as “AmaPanyaza” will now train under the supervision of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to fight crime in the province.
This was announced by the Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi in a tweet on Sunday on his official X account.
In his tweet, he said it was not a joke that the provincial government would take crime activities head-on to ensure that the public was safe and protected.
“Ready to be handed over to the South African National Defence Force for proper training.
“Go and make us proud young men and women. We will fight crime in Gauteng and we mean it,” the post read.
Speaking to IOL, his spokesperson, Sizwe Pamla, said the wardens received training from different departments for different roles and the army would be one of them.
“People who will help with land invasions, illegal mining, illegal liquor establishments, school safety, can't be given the same training,” he said.
He added that the wardens were not only trained by the army, but also by the Metropolitan Police from Johannesburg and Tshwane.
This follows months of backlash and criticism from local authorities and residents over how the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) hired batches of crime wardens without proper training or adequate resources.
Many alleged that the programme was an electioneering campaign to get people to vote for the African National Congress (ANC), and not to crack down on unemployment or crime as intended.
Last week, DA leader John Steenhuisen referred to AmaPanyaza as drunkards taken from shebeens. He also said their uniforms were purchased from Pep stores.
Last year, on Youth Day, Lesufi launched the Nasi Ispani initiative to fight against unemployment in the province.
He said they were tired of celebrating Youth Day with so many unemployed young people.
Over 6,000 have been deployed to monitor and protect townships, informal settlements and hostels, CBDs, and businesses.
According to Lesufi, the aim is to boot out and sweep crime off in the streets of Gauteng.
On July 27, at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Lesufi handed over 50,000 employment offers to job applicants.
In addition, Lesufi promised to deliver 6,000 job opportunities every month until 2024 to fight against corruption, lawlessness, poverty, and unemployment.
kamogelo.moichela@inl.co.za
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