Official metro police launch today – but unions not happy

AFTER seven years of empty promises and two highly paid police chiefs who operated without staff, the long-stalled Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan police unit is set to become a reality today – but the unions are not happy.

The unions insist that negotiations related to the new law enforcement service are still under way and no agreement has been reached yet.

Despite this, the municipality issued an invitation yesterday to “the official launch of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Police Service”, to be held outside the City Hall at 10am.

All streets surrounding the City Hall will be closed during the launch.

“The launch of the metro police is a major milestone in the pursuance of the municipality’s objective of fighting crime, traffic law enforcement and bylaw enforcement,” the invitation says.

The event announcement follows mayor Danny Jordaan’s statement in March that the new police force would be launched in April, which, once again, never happened.

Yesterday, several officials confirmed some officials had been given letters endorsing them as acting metro police officials, specifically for the launch.

On Wednesday, new safety and security head Linda Mti, a former Correctional Services boss, met police top brass and other role-players to discuss the launch of the metro police.

Another meeting followed, where top brass addressed staff and ordered their attendance at the launch.

Mti declined to answer questions yesterday regarding the actual implementation of the new policing unit.

This comes in the wake of a closed meeting last week between unions and the municipality regarding an ongoing dispute related to labour practices and the transfer of employee contracts from different divisions into one.

The aim is to amalgamate traffic and municipal safety department officials under one banner – the metro police.

One of the first projects highlighted by the new force is to set up a longterm joint operation to clamp down on gang violence in the northern areas.

SA Municipal Workers’ Union regional secretary Mqondisi Nodongwe said the municipality had tabled a proposal at last week’s meeting on a way forward for the unions and municipality.

“The proposal is being reviewed by our lawyers to give advice,” he said.

“If we agree, this matter will finally be settled. Our main issue is that we do not want any person to fall short because of the formation of the metro police.” Nodongwe, who said the union had not been told about the launch, emphasised that the proposal revolved mainly around the conditions of service and the transfer of contracts from the traffic and security divisions to one entity.

“We are surprised that the unions who represent the workers have not been invited or informed of the launch,” he said.

Nodongwe said the launch did not mean they were ready for implementation.

“They can show off the uniforms and cars without any problem,” he said.

“They cannot go ahead with implementation until the negotiations are concluded and an agreement has been reached.”

Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union Nelson Mandela Bay branch chairman Anthony Gallant also confirmed that negotiations were still under way.

“There are one or two things regarding the placement policy and the organisational structures of metro police that have not yet been concluded,” he said.

The metro police project, which has been stalled several times since 2009, has been on the cards since 2002 and has hit a string of snags along the way.

Advocate Trish Armstrong was appointed project team leader in 2008 before her contract was terminated in 2012, while Pinkie Mathabathe was appointed metro police chief in February 2014, only to be appointed acting head of the safety and security department in November last year, and then return to her position as metro police chief last month.

The plan is to divide the Bay into precincts – with officers working 12-hour shifts – and form units to deal with crimes such as drugs, vehicle theft and hijacking, corruption in the council, and gangsterism.

One of the main functions of the operational officials is to enforce the National Road Traffic Act and municipal bylaws, such as building and illegal dumping violations.

It is believed each precinct will be responsible for crime prevention in its area, as well as having task teams concentrate on priority crimes in that area.

The aim is a speedier response to serious crimes like robbery and hijacking, as well as municipal law violations.

While municipal police will have the same powers as those of the SA Police Service, they will not investigate cases. This will remain the role of the SAPS. The metro police officials will also be able to issue summonses and spot fines to offenders.