KZN cops spoil R30m worth
of fines
January 12 2014 at 02:49pm
By Jeff Wicks
By Jeff Wicks
Durban - A rift
between Metro Police officers and their management has led to the deliberate
spoiling of over 60 percent of all hand-written fines in the past year, and the
resultant loss of R30 million for the city.
The Sunday
Tribune can reveal that an internal audit, and statistics gathered on road
traffic citations issued by officers, identified the practice which is still
going on.
Any error on a
written fine means the document cannot be processed in court.
The city police
force of nearly 2 500 is in disarray. Union officials and politicians have
blamed poor leadership and have called for the resignation of Metro Police head
Eugene Nzama and his controversial logistics head, Innocent Chamane.
A senior
officer, who asked not to be named, confirmed that statistics gathered by metro
cops revealed that more than 60 percent of handwritten traffic citations had
been spoiled. Their secret report, submitted to city manager Sbu Sithole late
last year, also reveals rifts between senior officers and management.
The Sunday
Tribune has a copy of the report that says Nzama’s management style angered
officers.
“We are not
disgruntled officers, but career policemen with an average of 20 years of
experience and our decision to challenge Nzama was born out of despair at
seeing our once-proud force in perpetual decline,” it reads.
The report
cites Nzama’s irregular appointment of Chamane. “After Nzama learnt Chamane was
not a recommended candidate he had the panel nullified and formed a new panel
that he chaired.”
REVENUE LOSS
Widespread
dissent within Durban’s metro police has seen officers deliberately spoiling
handwritten traffic fines, resulting in a loss of nearly R30 million in revenue
for the city over the past year.
The Sunday
Tribune can reveal that the force of nearly 2 500, which issues thousands of
fines a month, is in disarray.
Internal
reports and statistics show that more than half of all fines issued by officers
have been deliberately spoiled. The trend was identified last year in an
internal memorandum, seen by the Sunday Tribune, and continues unabated.
Any error on a
written fine means the document cannot be processed in court.
Union officials
and politicians described the demonstration as a symptom of poor leadership and
called for the resignation of metro police head Eugene Nzama and his
controversial logistics head, Innocent Chamane.
A senior
officer, who cannot be named for fear of retribution, confirmed that statistics
gathered by metro police had shown that more than 60 percent of handwritten
traffic citations had been spoiled.
“The writing of
a traffic fine is not complicated and these officers were trained in how to do
this. They are intentionally spoiling the fines because they are irate with
management,” he said.
“They know that
airing their grievances has got them nowhere, so they hit the city where it
hurts most,” he added. “Captains are now having to go through each fine issued
by officers in their command, but that achieves nothing, because once the fine
is issued on the street, no alterations can be made to the duplicate, which
goes to the court for processing.”
Another officer
said stacks of spoiled fines were piled up at stations across the city.
“There are so
many ways that they (officers) can spoil the fine, by simply leaving a digit
out of the registration number, being vague about the location, or making a
mistake about the colour of the vehicle, and the fine is a waste. They are
doing this because they are frustrated and this is an outlet.”
Three
independent police sources, all in senior management, confirmed the practice.
Topping their
gripes list is the closure of the metro police stores department, which has
resulted in a uniform shortage.
OTHER
COMPLAINTS
- Allegations
of nepotism.
- Unfair
allocation of overtime.
- No
bulletproof vests.
- More than 600
officers are not issued with firearms.
A secret report
drafted by senior metro police officers and submitted to city manager Sbu
Sithole late last year reveals internal rifts between senior officers and
management.
According to
the report, of which the Sunday Tribune has a copy, Nzama’s management style
has fostered ill-discipline and anger among officers.
“We are not
disgruntled officers, but career policemen with an average of 20 years of
experience and our decision to challenge Nzama was born out of despair at
seeing our once- proud force in perpetual decline,” it reads.
“His often
erratic conduct, autocratic management style and disregard of procedures are a
major contributor to a declining standard of performance in the force and the
prevailing ill-discipline.”
The report
cites the irregular appointment of Chamane by Nzama. “After Nzama learnt that
Chamane was not a recommended candidate he had the panel nullified and formed a
new panel which he chaired.”
ROT SETS IN
DA executive
council member Heinz de Boer said: “While metro has always had its fair share
of controversy, the rot has really started to set in over the past 12 to 18
months. In fact, the dramas that play out in metro speak of an almost
dysfunctional police force that is in serious need of review and the dismissal
of many incompetents and criminals who wear a uniform,” he added.
“Officers
deliberately spoiling traffic fines must be condemned in the strongest possible
terms, but at the same time this points to a deeper level of discontent in the
force. Members have been subjected to a management structure that seems almost
incapable of managing the most basic of requirements, such as uniforms,
bulletproof vests and firearms.
“The dismal
situation at the horse unit where the grooming contract was cancelled, a lack
of food for police dogs, the ludicrous directive that old police dogs should be
euthanised and the perpetual forming of cliques and cabals in the force have
eroded public confidence and the morale of decent and honest officers.
“Quite how we
expect officers to perform their duties efficiently with ill-fitting and old
uniforms, undernourished dogs and in some cases no firearms baffles me,” he
said.
“But those
officers found responsible must be tracked down and fired. There’s simply no
alternative. I would challenge the mayor, in the interests of honesty and
transparency, to instruct the city manager to seriously expose the flaws of
metro in a public report to the council and that those who are literally
ruining the force be given the boot. Whether the ANC will do this remains to be
seen, as when it comes to issues like this where comrades could potentially
lose their jobs it’s often easier to adopt the ostrich head in the sand
approach,” he said.
MISMANAGEMENT
South African
Municipal Workers Union regional secretary Jaycee Ncanana said spoiling fines
was a symptom of mismanagement and cadre deployment in the leadership.
“The only
solution now is to remove Innocent Chamane from his position. Since his arrival
things have not been in order and you don’t need a degree to understand that
the metro police are in disarray,” he said.
“From what we
can see it looks as if the situation is deteriorating every day and he doesn’t
understand the dynamics of his post and he has no idea how to manage his staff
and solve their problems,” he added.
“The current
abhorrent state of the police is an indictment of Eugene Nzama’s leadership and
he cannot be allowed to shirk responsibility.
“This is the
same man who was appointed when someone with experience in policing experience
should be doing his job. He was imposed on people who know how to do the job
better than he does. Now he brought in another person (Chamane) who is full of
ignorance about how the metro police operate, this does not help the situation.
“The head
doesn’t understand his job, and his top assistant (Chamane) is also in the
dark. Metro police is crucial in the running of Durban and they are failing. If
they cannot perform their duties and people do not face the consequences of
breaking the law, it means we are in crisis. Why should people feel obliged to
obey the rules of the road?” he added.
Numerous
attempts to contact Chamane and Nzama proved unsuccessful.
eThekwini
communications head Tozi Mthethwa said the matter of spoilt fines would be
investigated.
“eThekwini
Municipality views the allegations of spoiled fines issued by metro police
officers in Durban very seriously and will investigate this matter,” she said.
“The
municipality has an internal grievance process in place and all employees have
the right to lodge a grievance,” she added, while failing to respond to
specific questions put to her.
Sunday Tribune
