Kempton Park ward councillor, Alderman Jaco Terblanche has urged executive mayor, Ald Nkosindiphile Xhakaza and city manager, Dr Imogen Mashazi act swiftly to resolve the current strike by EMPD officers to avoid a long weekend with no EMPD officers on the ground.

“The EMPD is an essential service, and we call on striking members to honour the badge and return to duty to serve and protect the residents of Ekurhuleni,” said Terblanche.

“The root cause of this strike must be placed squarely at the feet of the coalition in the CoE, who, through the mismanagement of the city’s finances, have implemented austerity measures and slashed overtime pay.”

He added that for some EMPD members, this equates to a loss of up to R8 000 per month.

Also read: PROTEST: Major traffic delays on routes around Kempton Park

“While the DA is cognisant of the fact that overtime pay should not be seen as a source of revenue, abruptly cutting it will result in the type of protest action currently underway.

Terblanche called on the City of Ekurhuleni to better manage its human capital in the EMPD by:

• Filling all funded vacancies to ensure that the labour force is not stretched thin. More boots on the ground will equate to an equal distribution of resources.
• The implementation of a three-shift rotational system.

“Both measures will equate to a better resourced and financially viable EMPD,” said Terblanche.

Also read: City of Ekurhuleni condemns this morning’s ILLEGAL EMPD STRIKE

“Residents in the CoE deserve better than to live in a city where not even policing is untainted by the failures of this coalition of chaos,” he added.