Pretoria - Gauteng MEC for Community Safety Faith Mazibuko has caved in to public pressure by abruptly withdrawing an advert for 6 000 crime-prevention wardens less than 24 hours after it was published.
This followed an outcry that her department was trying to push for political party patronage by making it a requirement that applicants must obtain a motivational letter from their ward councillors.
The advert was put out on Tuesday, with the deadline for application set for November 16. However, on Thursday, Mazibuko made a U-turn when she announced: “The advert for the crime prevention wardens has been temporarily withdrawn. It will be readvertised in due course.”
There was mixed reaction to the withdrawal on social media, with some saying the move showed Mazibuko listened to the people’s outcry.
One user said the decision to get a motivational letter from councillors as one of the requirements had already sidelined “other community members who are not card-carrying members of the ruling party”.
“Better, just make the requirements to accommodate every SA citizen,” one user said.
The move also drew criticism from the DA in Gauteng, which questioned why the applicants were required to produce a motivational letter from ward councillors.
DA MPL Crezane Bosch, a former Tshwane councillor, said the involvement of politicians in the recruitment process pointed to “an attempt to create political patronage networks”.
“The DA is on a mission of eradicating cadre deployment as it has brought nothing but corruption and state capture, and resulted in the deterioration of safety and security systems in our country,” she said.
She agreed that there was a dire need for more human resources to assist with crime prevention, but said the advertised positions “should be allocated on a fit-for-purpose and merit basis; not according to political party lines”.
Bosh said: “The code of conduct for councillors is clear: they cannot be involved in administrative matters. These motivational letters would blur the lines and be a direct contravention of the councillor’s code of conduct.”
Mazibuko initially told the DA that the councillor’s motivation letter was required as evidence that the candidate resides in the ward, Bosch said.
“She (Mazibuko) stated that the wardens will be working in their own wards and that the advert has been temporarily withdrawn because they are sorting certain requirements.”
The DA welcomed the advert withdrawal and said it would submit formal questions to Mazibuko in the legislature to determine what recruitment processes will be followed for the appointment of the wardens.
“We will continue to monitor this process to ensure cadre deployment does not risk the safety and security of Gauteng residents,” Bosch said.
On Friday, Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the recruitment process of the 6 000 young people would start this week; “not next year”.
Pretoria News