Cape Town - At least 58 Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers who failed their driving assessments and another eight who did not comply with requirements to carry a firearm are challenging the termination of their contracts with the City.
The 66 officers, who are mostly black African women represented by the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu), failed their annual assessments last year, and their contracts were terminated yesterday.
LEAP officers were introduced in 2020 as an initiative of the provincial government, run in partnership with the City.
The affected members were stationed in black African townships and on the Cape Flats, in areas including Nyanga, Delft, Gugulethu, Kraaifontein, Hanover Park and Bishop Lavis.
Samwu argues that the termination should have been a last resort.
Union spokesperson Hlalanathi Gagayi said all the officers had valid driver’s licences, but some had Code 10 while they were assessed on Code 8.
He said many of the officers did not have cars of their own due to economic reasons, and that contributed to their failing the assessment.
When it came to the firearms assessments, a dismissed employee who asked to remain anonymous said that they were tested on a different firearm to that which they were initially trained on.
Meanwhile, Samwu said the members also practised on an A5 shooting sheet, but were then assessed on an A4 size.
“What is of great concern is that firearm training is provided by the City. They trained these members at a particular standard and assessed them at different standards and failed them.
“The City assessed these members for vehicle driving as well, many times on short notice for all these assessments, sometimes waking members from night shift for the assessments, only for them to be failed.
“The union made submissions on the 26th of January to the City after the members were served with incapacity papers; no response was given to the union submissions except for the termination of employment.
“We have written directly to both the City manager and mayor for an urgent intervention and we will see if they will respond positively,” said Samwu.
City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said the contracts were terminated due to non-compliance with the operational requirements for the contracts.
“The ruling of non-compliance is based on their employment contracts and the conditions of employment, not race or gender.
“The City followed due process in addressing and concluding this matter.
“Driver competency and firearm competency are inherent requirements of those employed within LEAP,” said Tyhalibongo.
Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen said: “As a LEAP officer, it is prudent that in both these and other areas of your work, you’re able to effectively fulfil your duties. Given the critical role LEAP officers play in combating crime, particularly in our murder hot spot areas, there cannot be any compromise in their competency levels.”
Two women who spoke on condition of anonymity yesterday said they were breadwinners, and they now had to figure out how to pay their children’s school fees and provide for other responsibilities.
“This ‘incapacity’ has affected us very badly,” said one woman.
“If you look at our licences, most of us passed our licences like five years ago – how do you expect one to be competent in driving, when that person last drove a vehicle when he or she was tested?”
Another woman said: “I am numb, I don’t know how I am going to break this news to my mother. I’m a breadwinner and thinking about my children. I will have to take them out of the schools I have put them in. I couldn’t sleep, I’ve got sleepless nights.”