Health and safety risk at the Pretoria East warden training site needs urgent intervention

Trainees at the Castle Inn Resort in Pretoria East are exposed to terrible conditions which compromise their well-being.

Various whistleblowers have reliably informed the DA that the conditions to which trainee wardens are subjected are unacceptable and inhumane.

It is alleged that the aspirant wardens have been subjected to a lack of balanced diet meals, no ablution facilities and trainees are left to sleep outside.

When the DA visited the site, we witnessed mobile toilets being set up though training has been ongoing for four weeks.

This raises questions about what the trainees have been using up to that point and what conditions they have been subjected to for the first part of the training since the start of February.

The DA has further seen photos of chicken and other meat intended for catering purposes left outside in the sun on steel tables for days on end before being used. Again, this is a health risk, as trainees can be subjected to food poisoning.

It remains unclear if the project was budgeted for or how this tender was awarded and advertised, as the budget available is not sufficient to cover the costs of this project.

If the Department of Community Safety and Security intends to mushroom training facilities across the province, it should plan properly and prepare to accommodate aspirant officials.

The lack of attention to health and nutrition regulations can put the lives of trainees at risk and is a violation of their human dignity.

The DA has submitted questions to Gauteng MEC of Community Safety and Security, Faith Mazibuko, to find out whether the correct procurement procedures were followed when this tender was awarded and if the department does regular inspections of training sites.

We will also be submitting additional questions about the credibility of the service providers and if they comply with the various regulations. If this is proven not to be the case, then the DA will write to the treasury for them to be blacklisted.

Community Safety Wardens are supposed to be trained to provide much-needed additional security to our communities. The current conditions impact their dignity negatively and do not nurture the much-needed pride and passion required from these wardens.

Politics on Tap : DA Engages Community Members

Politics on Tap

Today, Friday 29 May 2015, members of the Democratic Alliance in the Pretoria East region will host Politics on Tap, an event that seeks to bring South African citizens into an environment where they are able to interact on a personal basis, with their elected politicians.

This time, our panel will include the DA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson, Solly Msimanga MPL, DA’s Shadow Minister of Transport, Manny de Freitas MP and Mayor of the DA-Governed Midvaal Municipality, Bongani Baloyi.

The entire format of the engagement is to encourage the public to question, debate and engage with the topical issues of the day.

The Current Political Landscape

The members of the panel will give short opening speeches on their particular areas of expertise and their views on the current political landscape in South Africa before taking questions from the audience.

At this week’s event we will delve into matters concerning E-tolls, the state of local government in Gauteng and the upcoming local government elections.

Direct engagement with politicians is lacking within the South African political space.  Politics on Tap aims to bridge this gap by creating an informal setting where people can participate in both social and political activity at the same time.

We encourage members of the public to come through and join us.

Date : 29 May 2015

Time : 18:30

Place : Pretoria Boys High Old Boys Club, 378 Queen’s Crescent, Pretoria.

 

Media Enquiries

Phuti Kwenaite

Constituency Officer : Fountains Rust

074 633 8774

 

Jordan Griffiths

Convenor : Politics on Tap

084 209 3760

 

Nkele Molapo

Media Officer

072 041 4842

press@gauteng.da.org.za

[Image source: Manny de Freitas and Bongani Baloyi]