DA slams city's safety levels

The committee that oversees the metro police and emergency services has been criticised for resembling a "casualty" ward

THE continuous changes in the leadership of the safety committee of the Johannesburg municipality will cost residents dearly because it affects the standard of emergency responses, the DA says.

The committee that oversees the metro police and emergency services has been criticised for resembling a "casualty" ward.

"In the 10 years of its existence it has seen five members of the mayoral committee overseeing it and five chairpersons, making it the most ever-changing department.

"But, more discouraging than that is that it has also seen a lot of directors resigning or being fired," DA shadow member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for safety Mervyn Cirota said.

While city officials have kept a tight lid on the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report on allegations against Emergency Management Services (EMS) head Audrey Gule, last week saw the resignations of outgoing MMC Elgina Ndhlovu and metro police director David Tembe and the suspension of Gule.

DA provincial health spokesperson Jack Bloom has called on health MEC Ntombi Mekgwe to make public the PwC report.

"The report was only commissioned after pressure on former health MEC Qedani Mahlangu following a meeting I had with her concerning this matter. Now the city is refusing to release it."

Bloom said he would be tabling questions to Mekgwe in the legislature on why she has not made the report public.

City spokesperson Gabu Tugwana, however, said: "There is stability and continuation of leadership, bringing in a mixture of experience and innovation to important positions.

"Ndhlovu was appointed chief of staff in the office of the mayor, while Tembe resigned to take up a senior position at the Road Traffic Management Corporation."

Tugwana said the EMS had an exemplary record of saving and protecting lives, "as seen in their heroic actions during floods in the city over the past two seasons".