Johannesburg - The metros of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Pretoria plan to clamp down on beggars who illegally direct traffic during peak hours and even arrest them if necessary.
The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) and Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) said they have taken note of the disruption caused by beggars who have taken it upon themselves to direct traffic, particularly during load shedding.
The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) said it recorded a high number of vandalism of traffic lights and cable theft and the majority of traffic lights were either not working or malfunctioning.
JPMD spokesperson Xolani Fihla said load shedding and rotational blackouts also contributed to traffic lights not working, leading to heavy traffic congestion during peak hour.
“A directive was issued that all JMPD officers must take up point duty during these periods between 6am and 9am in the morning and between 3pm and 6pm. JMPD officers have various responsibilities ranging from crime prevention, by-law enforcement, attending to protests, and life-threatening and non-life-threatening emergencies within the city,” he said.
Fihla added that while officers cannot be at every intersection, with the assistance of Traffic Free Flow sponsored by Outsurance on main arterials, heavily congested and major routes are prioritised.
“Officers have also been tasked to monitor areas and intersections outside the peak hours, as we have received numerous complaints regarding unauthorised people controlling traffic. The challenge is that if an accident happens, the city will not be liable for any damages. The city can only be liable if traffic is controlled by JMPD or authorised officials,” he said.
JMPD is also discouraging motorists from giving unauthorised people money as an incentive to control traffic.
“This encourages them to continue and even go to the extent of tampering with traffic lights and its controller boxes. It endangers the lives of these individuals as they may be run over by vehicles. We urge motorists to obey the rules of the road at all times, and where there are no points people, please treat those intersections as compulsory stops,” he said.
The TMPD’s decision to take action against beggars directing traffic is in response to a query from online news site My Broadband,
Residents in parts of Pretoria complained about how rare it was to see officers assisting at many of these intersections during those times and praised the unofficial “pointsmen” for stepping in. Some also reward them by throwing money out the window as they drove through past.
In some instances, officers have been seen chasing beggars away from intersections experiencing traffic flow problems due to load shedding. But, instead of taking over, the officers would drive off.
The Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) also called on traffic authorities in the country to do more to deploy personnel to these areas, specifically during rush-hour.
“Private sector pointsmen are dispatched to certain areas but other, busier intersections are ignored. This creates a vacuum for ‘good Samaritans’ to step in,” the AA said.
TMPD senior superintendent Isaac Mahamba said the department was planning operations to arrest beggars who regulated traffic as they were “impersonating traffic officers” and presented a danger to themselves and motorists.
Mahamba said the Road Traffic Act of 1996 stated that only a peace officer in full uniform and with training was allowed to regulate traffic.
“The city won’t take any responsibility for the accidents that may be caused by these beggars. We urge them to refrain... they are not trained to regulate traffic. They will face the law,” he added.
EMPD spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel Kelebogile Thepe said when they receive complaints, they would issue a verbal warning to the beggars.
“Recurring offenders will be given a written warning. The last resort would be to arrest them. But we are not there yet,” she said.
JMPD is encouraging members of the public to report any issues about traffic lights‚ cable theft‚ flooding‚ vandalism‚ accidents‚ broken-down vehicles, traffic violations, areas where traffic is gridlocked, and where unauthorised people are controlling traffic, by calling the City of Johannesburg's emergency number, 011 375 5911, the JMPD emergency number, 011 758 9624.