Metro police in bad shape
June 5 2013 at 11:06am
By Kamini Padayachee and Bernadette Wolhuter
By Kamini Padayachee and Bernadette Wolhuter
Durban - The eThekwini Municipality has
called for a wide-ranging investigation or commission of inquiry to deal with
“deep-seated problems” in the city’s metro police.
Speaking after the release of the
Manase progress report on Tuesday, mayor James Nxumalo said another
“independent process” was needed.
“What forms part of that process is yet
to be decided, but it has to be carried out to investigate all the issues
within the police.”
The progress report also said the city
was trying to find a “legally sound solution” to deal with the problems of
leadership in the department after officers called for the removal of head
Eugene Nzama.
They said he was “unfit to run the
police department” and claimed he had given instructions for misuse and abuse
of police vehicles and “harassed” taxi owners.
Nzama was also accused of using his own
construction company in the building of the Albert Park police building.
His suspension was lifted last year
after he took the city to court.
The report points to unhappiness in the
department and says steps need to be taken to bring about “stabilisation of the
environment” and to “restore morale and discipline”.
The Manase report stated that 30
trainee constables allegedly bought driving licences to get into the
department.
Nxumalo said the licence scam was
“wide-ranging” and involved traffic department officials. He said the case was
now being investigated by the Hawks.
The progress report said eThekwini
officers could be used as State witnesses to catch the kingpins involved in the
syndicate.
The Anti-Corruption Task Team is also
investigating the allegations against the officers.
There were also allegations that
several high-ranking officers had relatives employed within the department, but
no evidence of nepotism relating to these appointments could be found.
The probe found that 14 officers were
allegedly taxi owners - a contravention of the department’s policies and
national legislation which disqualifies them from holding taxi operator
licences.
The officers were identified through
outstanding fines ranging from R5 000 to R117 000 on their vehicles.
DA police spokeswoman Dianne Kohler
Barnard said further investigations into the metro police could reveal bigger
issues.
“I have visited police stations and
there is no one employed there to verify matric certificates or driver’s
licences,” she said.
She said a commission of inquiry was
unnecessary and that it was a “delaying tactic” being used to further prolong
the release of the full report.
The Mercury
