MANY residents pass the Edleen metro police satellite office at the Edleen circle every day, but little do they know the conditions in which these officers have to work.
The 33 officers stationed there, both men and women, share one toilet and all work in one room.
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Refiloe Nt’sekhe, MPL, DA constituency head: Kembisa (Kempton Park/Tembisa) and DA national spokesperson, visited the station recently and witnessed the challenges these officers face on a daily basis.
The station commander does not have a private office and has to work with sensitive information with other officers in the vicinity. There is also no storage place for items removed by officers from illegal traders and everything is stored in the parking area, she said.
“The station should have 23 vehicles but five were scrapped and not replaced and four are in for services. The six cameras on the premises, four inside and two outside, are not working.
“Female and male officers being forced to share one toilet violates their dignity and privacy,” Nt’sekhe said.
On May 29 last year, Ekurhuleni Metro MMC for finance, Moses Makwakwa, delivered his 2014/2015 budget speech in which he mentioned that R14-million had been set aside for the construction and upgrading of the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Departments in Benoni, Edleen, Tokoza, Tembisa and Kempton Park precincts. He also stated that R92-m had been set aside for additional police vehicles.
“When I visited the Edleen EMDP office with councillors Jaco Terblanche and Johann Jordaan, it was evident that Edleen EMPD is still waiting for these upgrades and additional resources.
“It is also unacceptable that the Ekurhuleni Municipality expects the station commander and all officers of Edleen EMPD to do their jobs successfully when they are being denied access to the basic infrastructure they require to do their work.
“I have raised this matter with the executive mayor, Mondli Gungubele, during the last council sitting and appealed to him to urgently intervene and ensure that the current Edleen EMPD office is upgraded immediately.”
Nt’sekhe proposed the following temporary solutions:
That the metro provides mobile office units that have toilets;
That a secure storage unit is provided where officers can store confiscated goods;
That vehicles are provided to the Edleen EMPD; and
That the security cameras are fixed immediately.
“It is the responsibility of Ekurhuleni Municipality to ensure that the EMPD officers, who risk their lives to keep our communities safe on a daily basis, receive the resources and support they need to do their jobs. The current situation at the Edleen EMPD office is unacceptable and must be resolved.”
