Unsanitary working conditions exposed at Madadeni SAPS

“Can you imagine what it is like spending a whole day at work without any water to drink? And even when you drink, you must be conscious that you will need (water) to use the toilet,” said one employee.

Frustrations were running high when the Advertiser visited the police station on Monday.

The only available water is from an outside Jojo tank.

“If you use the toilet, you have to fill a five-litre bucket with water from the tank outside to flush. “

The only female toilet is clogged with human waste, and we have to collect water outside to clean the building ourselves. “Sometimes, the lift doesn’t work, so we have to carry water up the stairs,” one worker explained.

The impact of these unsanitary conditions extends beyond personal discomfort; it has significantly diminished morale and productivity within the department. Staff say they feel abandoned and neglected by their superiors.

Workers claim the problem started in 2022 with continuous interruption of the water supply. in February of this year, the eater completely dried up,”

 

“We work with people but how can anyone do their job properly without washing their hands and sanitise. It feels like we are being treated like animals,” now worker lamented.

Adding to their grievances, it was alleged that the State failed to provide essential office supplies, including stationery and printing paper. “It’s embarrassing and frustrating to explain to the community why we can’t deliver the services they need. We end up using our own money to buy the essentials because at the end of the day… our bosses don’t care how we get the job done; they just want it done,” lamented one worker.

Responding to the allegations, a source from management who spoke anonymously agreed that the situation ‘was less than ideal’ but vehemently denied that the problem goes back to two years.

“This has only been going on since April this year. This matter is receiving the necessary attention and intervention is in progress,” he said.

“We are not sitting on the matter. We have reached out for help from various structures including the municipality, who have assisted us with the tanks and public works and have already appointed a contractor to remedy the situation.”he continued.

In their official response, Madadeni SAPS representative Constable N. Langa said,”The station Madadeni SAPS has no jurisdiction or decree to address any media house on any matters of the service be it policy directives or operational matters.”

They further said, “SAPS view the allegations below in a serious light as gross misconduct on the part of the Employee who reported the untrue matters to your office,” as no employee is mandated to speak to media houses.

The full SAPS comment on the print version of the newspaper.

For the full story, see the front page of the Newcastle Advertiser.

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