The DA has called for an urgent full public audit of blue-light vehicles in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) after allegations that vehicles intended for law enforcement are being misused by senior officials. In a letter to public safety MMC Mgcini Tshwaku that TimesLIVE has seen, DA Johannesburg shadow MMC for public safety Solomon Maila said a full audit of all the blue-light vehicles within the JMPD and other departments of public safety must be conducted within 14 days from January 25. “If the MMC fails to respond or take action, we will have no choice but to take this matter to the national commissioner of the South African Police Service Gen Fannie Masemola to intervene,” Maila said.
The findings and testimony that emerged from the Madlanga commission of inquiry into alleged criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system are said to have led to the audit request. Maila added that whistleblowers have come forward to the DA with information suggesting that several vehicles leased by the City of Johannesburg for police use were allegedly being used by family members of senior JMPD officers, as well as by criminal syndicates involved in serious and violent crimes across Gauteng. “These vehicles are leased at an exorbitant cost, with the city paying up to R50,000 per vehicle per month in some cases,” he said.
In a city and province experiencing some of the highest crime levels in the country, and where residents have repeatedly fallen victim to bogus police operations, this failure is indefensible Maila alleged that R1.2bn was awarded to a fleet management company, Afrirent Africa Holdings, in 2018, while senior municipal officials and politicians within the ANC-led coalition might have been benefiting from it. Maila said the DA had been informed that some of the vehicles were allegedly registered in the names of municipal officials, despite being listed and paid for as leased vehicles by the city. “In a city and province experiencing some of the highest crime levels in the country, and where residents have repeatedly fallen victim to bogus police operations, this failure is indefensible,” Maila said.
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He said there would be no tolerance of misuse and abuse of public safety resources for personal gain or criminal activity. “Blue lights are not symbols of privilege, they are instruments of public trust. Any abuse of police vehicles undermines law enforcement, endangers residents and erodes confidence in the criminal justice system,” Maila said.
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