Msunduzi buys new guns for traffic police, security

THE Msunduzi Municipality has bought new guns to replace those which were seized by the police task team investigating politically motivated murders in the province.

The guns were seized more than a year ago as it was believed that they may have been used in some of the killings.

Msunduzi mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla said this week that the municipality had purchased new guns.

He was responding to questions about what had happened with the seized weapons and when these might be returned.

The seizure left municipal traffic officers and security unarmed. As a result, it is understood that traffic officers only work day shifts and allegedly don’t conduct by-law enforcement in some areas for fear of their safety.

Some opposition parties said the fact that traffic officers stopped working at 6pm was showing in terms of their budget performance.

They said in the past the traffic unit had generated close to R17 million of its own revenue, but this financial year, it was projecting only R1.7m.

Thebolla said the officers would undergo training before they received the new weapons.

“We are going to retrain them and make sure that they are physically and mentally fit to be handling guns.”

Regarding the seized guns, he said the city had not been informed about the progress of the investigation.

“We are mindful of the fact that when this investigation started, there were matters of Covid-19 that might have affected the investigation.

“We will give the police space to conduct their investigation. We all know the circumstances in this province that led to the police taking those guns,” he said.

DA councillor Sibongiseni Majola said they had not been informed of the council’s plans to buy new guns.

“If they buy new guns, what is going to happen if the old ones are returned, are they surrendering those that were taken?

“We recently held a budget adjustment workshop where I raised the matter of the traffic and security budget, in the previous years they were generating millions of their own money but this financial year they project to make about R1.7 million.

“When I raised this with the head of traffic, he said traffic should not be blamed because it is not their fault,” said Majola.

ACDP councillor Rienus Niemand said they had not been informed about the plans to buy new guns.

“That would be disastrous. The frightening thing is that those guns were taken away on suspicion they have been used for political killings.”