Lesufi says AmaPanyaza was 'Plan B' after SAPS rejected his request for additional 10k officers to be deployed in Gauteng

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said that before launching the crime prevention wardens programme, he had asked the South African Police Service (SAPS) to deploy an additional 10,000 officers to the province.
 
Lesufi believes that one of the main reasons crime remains a serious challenge in Gauteng is the shortage of police visibility and personnel on the ground.
 
The premier introduced the wardens in 2023 to help address street-level and petty crimes.

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However, the programme was disbanded last week after it was found to have been established without legal authority.
 
Lesufi said that he established the crime prevention wardens as a Plan B after the SAPS declined his request to deploy 10,000 additional officers to the province.
 
He said he had informed then-Police Minister Bheki Cele that the officers’ salaries would be covered by the Gauteng government’s budget, not that of SAPS.
 
"When my offer to have 10,000 policemen paid by us as the provincial government was declined, we had to go to Plan B. We had all the resources, including CCTV cameras and helicopters, but we didn’t have foot soldiers who could respond."
 
Lesufi said that his sole intention was to improve police visibility.
 
He claims to have approached both the justice minister and the police minister, arguing that the law permitted the establishment of such a unit.
 
However, in a recent report, the public protector begged to differ.

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