Bloom wants station commander out
Mr Bloom said Brig Mariemuthoo has been absent from work for 156 days since he was appointed on February 17, 2014.
The threat to remove the Jeppe SAPS commander from his position due to absenteeism has been called politicking.
This was said by the Jeppe Community Police Forum chairperson, Mr Zola Dambula.
Mr Dambula was reacting to a statement issued by Mr Jack Bloom, the DA’s Johannesburg East constituency head.
Mr Bloom said he and the ward 66 councillor, Clr Carlos da Rocha and Clr Victor Penning, will campaign to have the Jeppe SAPS commander, Brigadier Govindsamy Mariemuthoo, removed.
“We will mobilise the community for him to go, as he does not seem to want to do the job he is supposed to do,” said Mr Bloom.
Mr Bloom said Brig Mariemuthoo has been absent from work for 156 days since he was appointed on February 17, 2014.
“He took 70 days vacation leave, 22 days sick leave and 64 days temporary incapacity leave for what is described as an ‘Alleged IOD: Injury Left Knee’. This means he was absent for more than 30 percent of the time, which is excessive and affects the functioning of the station which is in a high crime area. I fail to see why a knee injury should lead to 64 days leave, which is three months absence,” said Mr Bloom.
Mr Dambula said there is nothing sinister about the station commander taking leave.
“We know that Brig Mariemuthoo was injured in the line of duty. It is not abnormal for a man his age with an injury to need medical attention now and again. It is also important to note that Brigadier Mariemuthoo does not approve his leave form. He applies for leave like any other SAPS member,” said Mr Dambula.
He said the residents are not compromised by Brig Mariemuthoo’s absence from work.
“The Jeppe SAPS works as a team. When he is not at work, an acting station commander is appointed. The station will not fall just because the Brigadier is not at work. He is a very experienced officer, especially in crime fighting operations. He is an asset to the station, community and the SAPS as a whole, but I would not want him to come to the office when he is not well. He cannot contribute when he is in pain. I would rather have him at work when he is fit as opposed to have him there just to count the days he came to work,” said Mr Dambula.
“The days the Brigadier took consists of sick leave and vacation leave. The SAPS follows its national instruction and prescripts when dealing with absenteeism of a member. Whenever a member of the SAPS is off sick as a result of ill health, the National Instructions and Prescripts are followed. A total of 36 days are allocated to each member and this is to be utilised within a three-year period. If those days are exhausted, a member can then apply for temporary incapacity leave. The provincial office has the authority to approve 14 days for incapacity leave and if a member applies for more than 14 days, that would have to be considered and approved by the National office,” said Colonel Noxolo Kweza, the Gauteng SAPS acting head of communications.
