THE Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality is enrolling 56 former military combatants in a course at the Ekurhuleni Metro Police College which will prepare them to assist the EMPD in its work to maintain order.
The military veterans will, among others, receive training on by-law education and enforcement.
The former liberation struggle fighters have been enlisted into the metro’s peace corps programme. The programme is aimed at curbing general disorder and lack of compliance of municipal and national laws.
The duties of peace corps officers include crime prevention through foot patrols, assisting in by-law education and enforcement; traffic control through point duty, including school points, assisting metro police officers at gatherings and events, social crime prevention as well as reporting service delivery issues to relevant Ekurhuleni departments.
Addressing the veterans, member of the mayoral committee on community safety, Clr Mthuthuzeli Siboza, told the former combatants to discharge their duties with utmost respect and dignity by reflecting the values of a law enforcing organisation.
Siboza said while it was not the municipality’s competency to deal with the matters of liberation struggle fighters, the metro had seen it necessary to respond to the plight of former combatants in Ekurhuleni.
There are more than 700 ex-combatants on Ekurhuleni’s database. Some will be placed at FET colleges in Ekurhuleni to train as artisans from next month. The metro’s demilitarisation office is working tirelessly to ensure that all former combatants are demilitarised and able to participate in the mainstream economy.
