MEDIA RELEASE
22 September 2009 (Tuesday)
Traffic
To: THE NEWS EDITOR
DATE OF ISSUE: Wednesday, September 23, 2009
NOT EMBARGOED
Gauteng Community Safety Officials fighting crime
The Department of Community Safety has taken note of a story on the cover page of The Star newspaper of 18 September 2009 regarding the alleged grounding of traffic vehicles.
In relation to this factually incorrect media article, we wish to state that the department has no policy of docking of employees'/ officers salaries for using traffic cars. It is therefore a malicious fabrication, by the source quoted in the Star newspaper, to say that traffic officials have amounts of money deducted from their salaries for using government vehicles to perform official duties. We do take steps where there is blatant abuse of a vehicle, as any organisation with a large fleet is entitled to do. Some officers have done as much as 9 000km in a month and one car accumulated 100 000km in 18 months.
With regard to vehicle mileage management, we also wish to state that the kilometer limit in some of the vehicles is determined according to a vehicle's expected lifespan (three years as determined with by the service provider, GFleet). We have also observed that the bulk of kilometers recorded on the vehicles in question arise largely from officers using the vehicles to travel from home to work and work to home.
Aware of the need to continue to provide safe and reliable transport for law enforcement agents who are in the employ of the department, we are putting mechanisms in place to provide alternative transportation for officers to and from work. This measure will also ensure that patrol vehicles actually accumulate kilometers for law enforcement duties and not for transporting officials from home to work and from work to home.
The article in question quotes an anonymous traffic official as alleging that the department could not respond to a robbery incident. This allegation is also based on a factually incorrect premise. The fact of the matter is that we normally respond to reports of criminal activities as back up to the South African Police Services (SAPS). It is not true that traffic officials in the employ of the department are directly linked to the 10111 emergency response centre.
SAPS are the first port of call for such incidences. We are part of the Aggravated Robbery Strategy responses, but it is through the SAPS that we normally respond to crime scenes. We also wish to state on record that we exercise overall oversight responsibility for the performance of SAPS in the province.
We also find it implausible and quite disturbing that a committed law enforcer would elect to do nothing after receiving a tip-off pertaining to a criminal activity, as suggested in the article. In a situation where the law enforcer is unable to personally respond to an emergency, we would have expected that the least that the peace officer could do is to quickly relay the information to his/her superiors and or to the SAPS. This is what would be expected from an upright law enforcer. We, however, believe that this allegation and the reported response are atypical of the moral values and attitude of officials within the department.
In conclusion, we think it worth reiterating that whilst we will seek long term solutions to balance fleet management with effective law enforcement, we have a responsibility to manage the current resources at the disposal of the department in a responsible manner. The Gauteng Traffic Police remains an effective law enforcement agency whose visibility in the province is beyond question. We will thus resist any attempts by a few to cast the agency in a negative light when the overwhelming majority of officers are conscientious and dedicated to their work.
Ends
For more information contact:
Issued by Gauteng Department of Community Safety.
Media contact person: Sizwe Matshikiza at (011) 689 3633 or 071 851 2369.
For media releases, speeches and news visit the Gauteng Provincial Government's website at www.gautengonline.gov.za |
