Lesufi's AmaPanyaza project doomed to fail from the start

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The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) welcomes the Gauteng government’s decision to disband the so-called crime prevention wardens (AmaPanyaza), viewing it as an acknowledgement of the programme’s failure.

Since the project was announced in 2023, the Freedom Front Plus maintained that it is illegal, impractical and dangerous to appoint individuals lacking the proper training or mandate as law enforcers, even though the intention may be good.

Section 205(1) of South Africa’s Constitution clearly stipulates that the South African Police Service (SAPS) is solely responsible for preventing, combating and investigating crime. Provincial governments, therefore, have no mandate to establish parallel police forces. 

Despite this, the AmaPanyaza peace wardens were appointed and funded by the Gauteng provincial government, equipped with uniforms and vehicles nearly identical to those of the police. These wardens were also allowed to undertake crime prevention operations without national police registration or legal authority.

This means they performed functions reserved exclusively for the police, constituting a violation of the separation of powers between national and provincial authorities. 

The programme has not curbed crime, but cost taxpayers millions of rand and undermined the separation of powers between provincial and national security services.

In the party's view, the plan to re-deploy some AmaPanyaza members as traffic officers or bylaw enforcers is an attempt to conceal a political failure. Gauteng does not need parallel structures, but professional, accountable officers with a legal mandate to support the police.

The Freedom Front Plus will keep monitoring this process, and demands full financial transparency regarding the costs of the AmaPanyaza programme and the new training initiative.