Public protector finds amaPanyaza were deployed without legal basis

The public protector has found it irregular that Gauteng’s crime prevention wardens (CPWs) were appointed and deployed without legal authority to conduct crime prevention duties.

This is one of the findings of the public protector’s report published on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi announced traffic wardens, known as amaPanyaza, would be disbanded after a dispute about their status. Since their launch in 2023, there has been a dispute about whether the amaPanyaza should operate as peace officers, crime prevention wardens or traffic wardens.

The public protector decided to investigate after a complainant alleged that Lesufi had taken it upon himself to paint outside the lines of the law by which he is bound in the way he had gone about establishing the CPWs.

The issue identified for investigation was whether the functionaries of the office of the premier or the Gauteng department of community safety regularly established and deployed the CPWs without empowering legal framework to perform policing powers.

The first batch of three months’ training of CPWs started in February 2023 and in May 2023, the first batch of CPWs were deployed within SAPS for on-the-job training.

The CPWs subsequently got involved in various police operations, together with other law enforcement agencies in Gauteng.

The investigation by the public protector revealed that the establishment, appointment and deployment of CPWs by the functionaries of the department was not premised on any supporting legislative framework that provided for guidance on the category of the officers, their appointment, training and their functions or duties.

Evidence before the public protector revealed that on June 23 2023, an application was made by then Gauteng community safety MEC Faith Mazibuko to the then justice minister Ronald Lamola for the designation of CPWs as peace officers.

However, the application by Mazibuko did not indicate the empowering legislation upon which the designation could be made by the justice department, which was a prerequisite for a lawful establishment, appointment and designation as peace officers and deployment of the members of a law enforcement unit.

Mazibuko’s application to request the designation of CPWs as peace officers was not granted by the justice department due to the absence of the supporting legal framework.

A technical committee (TC) was appointed to resolve the legal issues and to propose solutions on the designation of the CPWs as peace officers. The TC concluded its work and confirmed that there was no legal authority to support the designation of CPWs in its current form.

The public protector report said the law neither empowered nor conferred upon the provincial government any authority to exercise policing powers. It said any conduct that sought to assume any power or function not granted by law or to perform functions or power falling exclusively in another sphere of government would be unlawful and unconstitutional.

Based on the totality of the factual evidence gathered and the application of the law, the public protector found that the conduct of the functionaries of the provincial department to establish and deploy CPWs to perform policing powers without an empowering legal framework constituted impropriety and maladministration.

In its remedial action, the public protector determined that Lesufi should take appropriate steps to ensure that CPWs are retained within the province as traffic wardens.

The remedial action also required that the Gauteng department of community safety take appropriate steps to ensure that the CPWs are lawfully appointed within the province as traffic wardens within 180 days from the date of receipt of the final report.

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