At least 58 Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers who failed their driving assessments and another eight who did not comply with requirements to carry a firearm are challenging the terminations of their contracts with the City of Cape Town.
The contracts of the 66 members, represented by the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu), were terminated on Wednesday after they failed their annual assessments last year.
Samwu spokesperson, Hlalanathi Gagayi, says all the officers had valid driver’s licences, but some had Code 10 while they were assessed on Code 8.
When it came to the firearms assessments, a dismissed employee who asked to remain anonymous said they were tested on a different firearm to that which they were initially trained on.
This while Samwu says the members also practised on an A5 shooting sheet, but were then assessed on an A4 size.
Samwu says: “What is of great concern is that firearm training is provided by the City, they trained these members at a particular standard and assessed them at different standards and failed them.
“The City assessed these members for vehicle driving as well, many times on short notice for all these assessments, sometimes waking members from night shift for the assessments only to get failed.
“We have written directly to both the City Manager and Mayor for an urgent intervention, we will see if they will respond positively.”
City spokesperson, Luthando Tyhalibongo, says the contracts were terminated due to non-compliance with the operational requirements of their contracts.
Tyhalibongo says: “The ruling of non-compliance is based on their employment contracts and the conditions of employment, not race or gender.
“The City followed due process in addressing and concluding this matter.
“Driver Competency and Firearm Competency are inherent requirements of those employed within LEAP.”
Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen, says: “As a LEAP officer, it is prudent that in both these and other areas of your work, you’re able to effectively fulfill your duties. Given the critical role LEAP officers play in combatting crime, particularly in our murder hotspot areas, there cannot be any compromise in their competency levels.”
francesca.villette@inl.co.za