The City of Joburg mayor, Dada Morero, has withdrawn his suggestion that foreign nationals should be recruited to the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD).
During a press briefing on Monday, Morero, the ANC Joburg regional chairperson, said the suggestion wasn’t aligned with party policies and the government.
The recently elected mayor said social media platforms showed robust participation in the matter. His comment comes after he was widely criticised on social media platforms for the suggestions. Others even went as far as calling for his head.
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“The instructions of the Lekgotla are clear that the proposal by the regional chair has been rejected.
“The Lekgotla has resolved on the way forward on this matter, and I will therefore not entertain any further debates in as far as this proposal is concerned,” said Morero.
Morero had suggested on Sunday that documented foreign nationals should be considered for employment at the JMPD. This was to deal with the language barrier between foreign criminals and cops.
He said local officials had challenges communicating with the criminals and would sometimes not understand as the criminals planned a police statement in their presence.
For this reason, he believed that it was only through his suggestion that foreigners who had been arrested would no longer conspire against the police during arrests.
Stirring fierce debate
This stirred a debate, which ActionSA insisted they would not be involved in as they strongly opposed the idea.
Nobuhle Mthembu, ANC Joburg caucus leader, said the matter should not be up for debate. Mthembu said she believes that there are other avenues that may be explored to bridge the language barrier.
“It is without question that this proposal is an insult to the thousands of South Africans who wear the uniform. Particularly the thousands of neglected police reservists who are ready to step up,” said Mthembu.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi also squashed the idea.
On his X account, Lesufi revealed that they asked for a sit-down with Morero to discuss the proposal. Lesufi said Morero alerted them that the idea had already been shut down by the ANC Johannesburg Lekgotla.
