A NUMBER of informers have vowed to no longer provide police with information about criminals.

The informers said police management were not paying them on time for their positive information.

This came to light when an informer from MP Stream near Thulamahashe complained that she helped the police at Mhala to arrest a man and confiscate a firearm in March last year.

She said though the information had yielded good results she had to date not been paid.

The informer told Sowetan that she had directed the police to a man who had been terrorising the community by robbing them at gunpoint.

"The police used my information to track down the gunman and made me fill in claim forms, saying I would be paid because they had managed to arrest the criminal as well as confiscate the illegal firearm," she said.

She said the police were quick to make promises but were "extraordinarily slow" in keeping them.

The informer pointed out that she was not the only one in the area who had not been paid over a number of months.

She connected us with three other informers who had allegedly helped the police to arrest criminals who had been hijacking vehicles and smuggling them to Mozambique.

"It is true the police are taking us for a ride.

"We risk our lives giving them sensitive information about criminals and after they have succeeded they forget about us despite their promises," said another informer.

"We believe the police claim the money on our behalf and pocket it for their own benefit."

Superintendent Sibongile Nkosi, spokesperson for the provincial police commissioner, could neither deny nor confirm the informers' allegations against the police.

"As far as I know we process informers' claims within a week. I'm just not sure what transpired concerning your sources, but as soon as I get to the bottom of the matter I will be able to explain."