From today, Johannesburg has 200 additional pointsmen across the city to ease the problems of malfunctioning traffic lights and load-shedding, the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) has announced.
The pointsmen were officially inducted last week at an event led by Member of the Mayoral Committee, Dr Mgcini Tshwaku, and senior JMPD and Public Safety Department officials.
JMPD said the deployment of traffic pointsmen was a measure aimed at reducing traffic disruptions.
It said the selection process for those appointed had been very strict. Background checks for any criminal activity were undertaken.
Some of those selected had experience managing traffic at intersections, “even though they didn’t have official training”.
“We received over 100 000 applications, a reflection of the profound unemployment issues facing our city and country. It broke my heart that we could not take in more applicants due to budget constraints, but we hope to be able to increase the numbers at a later stage,” said Tshwaku.
The JMPD will guide the process and Tshwaku assured the public that there would be strict oversight and accountability.
“Our focus is to ensure that traffic control in the city is in the hands of trained, authorised professionals,” Tshwaku concluded.
