PSA calls for Cele to fill vacant positions at 10111 call centres

The Public Servants Association (PSA) on Friday condemned the failure by the South African Police Service to fill vacant positions at 10111 call centres.

In response to a parliamentary question by DA shadow police minister Andrew Whitfield, police minister Bheki Cele this week revealed that 10111 call centres were in a state of crisis.

Cele said for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years and since April 1 2022, 4,061 out of an ideal number of 10,032 staff members were employed at 10111 centres across the nine provinces.

This represented just 40.48% of the number of staff required.

“The PSA has consistently been calling for the filling of vacant positions in the public service. The minister of police recently commented in parliament that the call centre received a lot of calls and that not all calls were answered because of a shortage of staff,” the union said.

The PSA said people who depended on the 10111 facility for their safety were in danger of not getting protection from this unit.

“The PSA calls upon the minister to urgently fill vacant positions at the call centre to maintain and advance service delivery in support of crime eradication.”

Whitfield said he would write to the chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on police to request that national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola prepare a comprehensive turnaround plan for 10111 centres across the country within 30 days to be tabled in parliament when it reconvenes.

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