Officers of the Traffic Department of the Emfuleni Local Municipality (Evaton, Sebokeng, Vaal Oewer, Vanderbijlpark, Vereeniging) are embroiled in a firearm fiasco after it came to light that three service firearms are missing and more than half of the officers do not have a firearm competency certificate.
This shocking revelation was made in a recent inspection report by the Department.
According to the report, 103 firearms, ranging from pistols to various types of rifles and BXP submachine guns, were issued to the Traffic Department.
Three of these firearms, including a CZ75 9mm pistol, a Beretta 9mm pistol and a B18885Z shotgun, are unaccounted for.
A case concerning the missing weapons was filed with the local police, but the Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) demands to know how the weapons went missing and whether they have been used in any crimes.
It also became evident that 34 out of the 61 officers do not possess a competency certificate for handling firearms.
The Firearms Control Act requires anyone handling a firearm to be in possession of such a certificate. Without it, their possession or use of firearms is illegal, and the Municipality is negligent for allowing it.
The Freedom Front Plus insists that the Department Head, Aaron Makhudo, should appear before the Municipal Council to explain why his Department is in such disarray and fails to comply with legislation.
In addition, all officers without competency certificates should immediately surrender their service firearms until they have completed the necessary training and are certified.
If a traffic officer without a competency certificate were to use a firearm and shoot someone, the consequences could be severe. The Municipality could be held liable for allowing these officers to carry weapons in violation of the law.
All this raises serious questions about the Traffic Department’s management, oversight and compliance with legal requirements.
The Freedom Front Plus will pressure the Department to conduct inspections more frequently to verify that traffic officers operate within the constraints of the law.
