Premier Panyaza Lesufi gives update on the status of Gauteng Traffic Wardens
MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA
ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA
Premier Panyaza Lesufi gives update on the status of Gauteng Traffic Wardens
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen Welcome to this media briefing, where we will be detailing the progress made in responding to the operational repositioning of the traffic wardens. This will assist us in clarifying the lingering misunderstanding regarding their legitimacy and giving an update on their current training pathway to prepare them for their full integration into the province’s law enforcement framework. Introduction
The introduction of the traffic wardens in our province has assisted us in fighting crime in particular, visible policing in the CBD. They have also assisted us in sporting events, notably big events including concerts, as well as in tracing and tracking those that are selling drugs in our communities, retrieving stolen vehicles and ammunition in some of the operations they have executed.
We are doing this with the understanding that the Gauteng province, is the engine of South Africa and the continent’s regional economy, has been dealing with a severe and evolving security threat, where its densely populated townships, informal settlements, and hostels have become epicentres for sophisticated, well connected criminal networks that consistently outpaces traditional policing methods. These complex criminal networks terrorise our communities and systematically exhaust the already scarce resources of our law enforcement agencies.
This situation has sometimes led to a dangerous proliferation of vigilante groups, which exacerbates the cycle of violence in our communities and undermines the rule of law. It has also been worsened by a critical policeto-citizen ratio of 1 police officer for every 358 residents, which is far below the UN's recommended standard of 1 police officer for every 250 residents, leading to poor visibility and slow response times in high-crime areas.
Adopting a strategic and collaborative model Confronted by this reality, the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) has moved beyond simply funding this strained system to actively building a resilient, multi-layered support network that is rooted in a proven framework for cooperative governance.
Based on a comprehensive strategy, the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy, Gauteng's approach to safety moves beyond just policing. It proactively tackles the root causes of crime through partnerships between government departments, law enforcement, and communities.
This model focuses on prevention, social programs, and community involvement to sustainably reduce crime and improve residents' lives. This provincial approach is consistent with South Africa's post-1994 policing philosophy, which transformed the service into a communityoriented function that prioritises partnerships.
Our approach is explicitly supported by strategies including the National Crime Prevention Strategy (1996), the Integrated Social Crime Prevention Strategy (2011), the National Development Plan: Vision 2030, and the Draft White Paper on Safety and Security (2016), all of which champion an integrated, multistakeholder approach to safety.
In the past three years, this philosophy has been implemented through significant tangible support that the Gauteng Provincial Government gave to the SA Police Service (SAPS) to execute their responsibilities, including:
• Introducing e-Policing using drones.
• We are at the tail end of introducing temper proof numberplates, as vehicles are at the centre of violent crimes, hijackings, and rampant killings.
• A formal agreement for cross-border law enforcement cooperation between the GPG, SAPS, and municipal police departments has been finalised, a first of its kind in South Africa.
The Gauteng Traffic Wardens The introduction of the Gauteng Traffic Wardens was the cornerstone of this collaborative strategy. This initiative was designed to strengthen and support the police, freeing them to focus on serious crimes while the wardens enhance visible policing and build positive, daily interactions with communities. Legal Foundation.
The rollout of Traffic Wardens has followed a meticulous, legally compliant sequence to ensure professionalism and accountability. The Gauteng Provincial Government can create these traffic roles because the Constitution and the National Road Traffic Act (93 of 1996), give the province the power to do so. To grant these traffic wardens legal authority, the provincial government invoked Section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA). This section authorises the Ministry of Justice to designate specific officials as peace officers. Accordingly, the province requested the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services to appoint the Crime Prevention Wardens as peace officers in line with this act.
The minister then established an inter-ministerial committee to examine the legislative framework. The committee which was made up of myself, the then MEC of Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko, then Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Ronald Lamola as well as the then Minister of Police, Bheki Cele ,determined that for the wardens to obtain peace officer powers, the province must follow the existing route used for provincial traffic appointments, as it already had the legislative power to do so.
Notably, the wardens are trained in line with the National Road Traffic Act and not the SAPS Act. The designation was formally pronounced in December 2023. This legal classification gave the wardens the same legal standing as Gauteng traffic officers pending the completion of their training. As a support unit, the Gauteng Traffic Wardens are designed to strengthen the efforts of existing law enforcement authorities.
They are peace officers with specific authority under the CPA and were never meant to replace the national police service. Instead, they assist law enforcement in preventing crime and enforcing laws. The programme is legal because it uses provincial wardens to assist the national police, thereby strengthening enforcement without overstepping constitutional authority. Comprehensive Training Even prior to their legal designation, candidate wardens proactively began training with various law enforcement agencies, including the Gauteng Traffic Police, Metro Police Departments, and the SANDF. To date, the effort has resulted in significant upskilling of these wardens.
To enhance professionalism and service delivery, approximately 8,867 traffic wardens from the five corridors have completed a multifaceted training program covering critical areas such as criminal law, law of evidence, personnel ethics, the prevention of brutality, firearm training, and the service of protection orders. Following the Peace Officer designation, which gave traffic wardens the same legal standing as Gauteng traffic officers, it was necessary to reconfigure their training and develop new procedures to integrate them into the province’s law enforcement framework.
In response to this new reconfiguration, during the tabling of the Department of Community Safety budget vote at the Gauteng legislature on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, we announced that the wardens would be migrated to become Gauteng Traffic Officers. To ensure a smooth and fair transition, the Department of Community Safety has been reviewing and conducting an assessment to determine who amongst the wardens meets the criterion needed for the traffic officer training programme.
The department has also been fielding numerous requests from various government entities interested in absorbing some of the wardens in their organisations. Arrangements are already underway to place several wardens within entities such as the Border Management Agency to manage entry points into the country and several municipalities to assist with the implementation of by-laws. We are determined to ensure that no one will be left behind as we move forward with this crucial process. Since then, the Department of Community Safety has partnered with 13 traffic colleges to offer the NQF Level 4 Traffic Officer Course. A subsequent capacity assessment has determined that the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) is best positioned to train GTWs in phases, and the candidates will then be subjected to the SASSETA system registration process.
This marks the final stage of their current training pathway, ensuring they become a fully integrated, professional, and legally compliant component of the province's crime-fighting arsenal. In Summary:
• The wardens will cease to exist in the current format. This will be done in a phased approach. • They will now be repurposed to be part of the Gauteng Traffic Police and Special Law Enforcement UNIT (SLEU) and other strategic security partners.
• To do so, they will be subject to extensive and intensive training for the next 18 to 36 months. •
Those who can't qualify for this training will be assigned to various municipalities for bylaw enforcement or the provision of security services in various government departments after acquiring the necessary training. We do this because we believe that what they are doing has demonstrated that what they are doing is needed in our communities, we just must eliminate areas of deep concern, which is their training, their mandate, and their qualification. We believe that the completion of this process will eliminate these concerns and they will be a fully-fledged unit that will assist us to fight crime in our province. As the Gauteng government, we want to focus on tackling crime rather than spending time squabbling around mandate and legitimacy or getting caught within factional battles of law enforcement agencies in our country.
The recent crime stats of Gauteng are an affirmation that our collective efforts to fight crime are turning the tide against crime with a 7.9% crime reduction in the last quarter, and a 25% reduction in road fatalities during the last festive season. This is the area we want to invest our resources and time in. With this new reconfigured approach, this new training regime, this new legal mandate we are of the view that we have now closed this debate. We will now have a new force that will supplement the law enforcement agencies with the necessary legitimacy, and necessary training.
We now call upon the law enforcement agencies to focus on the task at hand of fighting crime. We will continue to engage with the Minister of Police, the Minister of Justice, and all other relevant agencies, NPA, and institutions that will assist us to reaffirm this new stance we are taking as the provincial government. We will also release resources for training and capacitation of the new mandate. We are convinced that with this new role crime prevention will become a reality in our province.
Way forward The escalating threat facing our province from criminal elements demands a decisive break from outdated methodologies. The challenges before us are too complex for any single agency to solve. The recent, regrettable public discord between SAPS and JMPD in Bekkersdal underscores the critical need for our formalised cooperation agreement, which is designed specifically to eliminate such operational friction by fostering seamless collaboration, clear communication channels, and a unified command structure between the GPG, SAPS, and municipal police to ensure effective, cohesive law enforcement service delivery for all residents. We call on all law enforcement agencies to unite in the face of unified and well-coordinated criminals.
The Gauteng Provincial Government reaffirms its commitment to this professional, accountable, and integrated approach to fight crime in our province. We are championing a fundamental shift from isolated enforcement to integrated safety, and the methodical rollout of the Gauteng Traffic Wardens ensures they will work in partnership with all security structures to reclaim our communities, building a law enforcement capability worthy of the people of Gauteng. Sustaining the recent downward trend in crime is a central goal for the Gauteng Provincial Government, which lists crime fighting among its G13 key priorities. To maintain this progress, the province is focusing on using traffic wardens more strategically and improving their capabilities.
Lastly, in line with the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy that pushes for a proactive approach in tackling the root causes of crime through partnerships, we are launching a full-scale pushback against the devastating scourge of substance abuse across all five provincial corridors on 27 October 2025. We are mobilising every government resource to wage a campaign against a crisis that is stealing generations.
A full contingent of nurses, social workers, doctors, police officers, and government officials will be on hand to offer compassionate, professional, and immediate support. We urgently call on parents, community and religious leaders, businesses, and every resident to join us.
We must work together to dismantle drug dens, identify drug kingpins, and lead in rescuing our young people.
MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA
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