Questions are being raised about the substantial investment Gauteng has made in the Crime Prevention Wardens.
Crime prevention wardens taking part in a parade at Tsakane Stadium, in Ekurhuleni, in June 2023. Picture: Michel Bega
The Gauteng provincial government has spent almost half a billion rand on training the controversial crime-prevention wardens, also known as Amapanyaza.
The programme has been officially discontinued after KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi told parliament that it is illegal.
Since then, some of the wardens have been retrained as peace wardens.
Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi, in a reply to the DA in the Gauteng legislature, admitted that his government has spent almost R459 million in the last four years on the training, accommodation, travel and subsistence of the Amapanyaza.
These crime prevention wardens, appointed just before the 2024 general elections, had become known for patrolling different parts of the province with luxury cars – they reportedly received a stipend of around R6 000, but there were concerns about the quality of their training in dealing with crime in the province.
Lesufi’s crime-fighting spending
According to Lesufi, the provincial government spent R66.524 million in 2022-23, R224.022 million in 2023-24, R76.631 million in 2024-5 and R91.931 million in 2025-26, pushing total expenditure on the training programme to more than R459 million.
He further revealed that 5 900 of 8 752 traffic wardens were enrolled in the controversial peace officer training programme.
Quality of training and benefits
The DA’s Gauteng spokesperson for community safety has raised concerns about the training costs of the crime prevention wardens.
“Compared with alternative law enforcement capacity-building models, the cost raises important questions about value for money. For example, it costs an average of about R30 000 to train a South African Police Service (Saps) reservist, who can also make a meaningful contribution to crime prevention and public safety operations.
“This raises a critical question: has Gauteng become safer, spending more than R459 million and deploying 8 752 wardens across the province? Regrettably, the answer appears to be no, as the latest crime statistics continue to paint a grim picture of persistent violent and organised crime in Gauteng,” said Sun.
He said he is also concerned about the unexplained sharp increase in spending from R66.5 million in the 2022-23 financial year to R224.022 million in 2023-24, which is nearly 70%.
“The DA will table further questions for premier Lesufi to ascertain the cause of this dramatic spike in spending. Gauteng residents deserve to know whether their money is being spent on impactful public safety programmes that genuinely fight crime, rather than costly political gimmicks,” said Sun.
Who trained the wardens?
According to Lesufi, the crime prevention wardens were trained by accredited institutions, such as the Tshwane Metro Police Department, the Johannesburg Metro Police Department, the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department, and the Mangaung Traffic College.
