Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero has withdrawn his proposal to consider the hiring of legally documented foreign nationals for the Joburg Metro Police as a crime fighting measure.
Morero said at the weekend that the City of Joburg might have to consider recruiting qualified and properly documented foreign nationals into the JMPD to assist with bridging the language barriers when foreign nationals are involved in crime.
Morero has been slammed for his suggestions to hire foreigners to help fight crime in the city as opposed to hiring South Africans who needed the jobs.
Morero said the language barrier frustrated the work of the police when investigating crimes involving foreigners.
Several common issues are leading to the downfall of the city, including crime, lawlessness, corruption, violence, and building hijacking.
It is also alleged that illegal foreigners were involved in the hijacking of buildings and drug business in the city.
However, the proposal was strongly opposed and rejected by the ANC in Gauteng and parties like ActionSA and the EFF, who are coalition partners in the CoJ.
On Monday, the ANC in Joburg held a briefing to do damage control on the matter.
Leading the briefing, Morero apologised but stated his comments were to spark debate in the Lekgotla.
“I have concluded that my suggestion was not consistent with the policies of the ANC and government.
“I therefore unconditionally withdraw my proposal and apologise for the anxiety it might have caused to the residents of Johannesburg and the people of South Africa as a whole,” he said.
Morero further extended appreciation to people for robustly engaging in this discourse.
“The participation of our people in this discourse reaffirms our belief that we have a vibrant and conscious citizenry upon which a prosperous society can and will be built,” he said.
IOL Politics