One traffic officer for every 10 684 people
“The lack of traffic officers affects the entire Newcastle area, as services have to be extended to Madadeni, oSsizweni, Charlestown, Ingagane, Ingogo and Normandien as per the demarcation,”
Concerns about a possible shortage of traffic officers in town have been validated.
However, the situation is more serious than imagined. Chief Traffic Officer Ashok Anandhaw, said there was one traffic officer for every 10 684 residents.
“Or one traffic officer per 1765 registered vehicles of Newcastle. Yes, the department is indeed understaffed,” he confirmed. It has been determined there are 37 traffic officers, including the Chief Traffic Officer and his two superintendents.
“The lack of traffic officers affects the entire Newcastle area, as services have to be extended to Madadeni, oSsizweni, Charlestown, Ingagane, Ingogo and Normandien as per the demarcation,” Chief Officer Anandhaw explained.
He claimed the shortage of staff was due to budget constraints. “Steps are being taken to rectify the staff shortage.
The Strategic Executive Director contemplated that 15 traffic officers would be employed and 10 traffic wardens for the CBD and parking management system,” he said, adding that provision would be made in the midterm budget review.
