Tshwane Metro Police Academy in a state of neglect

City fire stations also falling apart; vacancies unfilled

Broken rescue vehicles, non-operational lights and CCTV cameras, falling door handles and unserviced fire hydrants.

This is the state of the Tshwane Metro Police Department Training Academy located inside the Leadership and Management Academy facility revealed by the city’s oversight committee during its visit to the premises last month.

In a council document meant to be discussed on Thursday, the committee revealed that the academy was in a state of neglect. 

These finding come as the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) collected R302m in revenue this year, with the biggest contributors coming from fines for towing fees, fines for policing bylaw, impounding and traffic fines.

In their visit to the academy last month, members of the oversight committee were greeted by broken emergency doors and door handles that were shuttered. There were no cleaning chemicals and toilet paper in bathrooms nor were fridges and kettles working in the kitchens.

The fire extinguishers had not been maintained since 2020, leading to an occupational health and safety risk. Parking bay water pipes were leaking, resulting in water losses; and the facility did not have hot water. The lights and CCTV cameras were also not functional due to lack of maintenance.

TLMA also houses the Tshwane Metro Police Academy.

It is important that the restaurant be reopened to save time lost during lunch breaks.City’s committee

Only two of the four shooting ranges were in working conditions and the nightshift indoor shooting range was not accessible, resulting in trainees using another facility in Mamelodi at an additional cost due to transport requirements and overtime.

The committee also observed that trainees needed to drive out of the academy to buy food due to the canteen being closed.

“It is important that the restaurant be reopened to save time lost during lunch breaks,” said the committee in its report which was meant to be discussed in council yesterday during the special council meeting which saw Cilliers Brink being removed as mayor through a vote of no confidence.

TMPD could not meet its key performance indicators, resulting in only 33 of the 51 driving course by its trainees being completed while 31 of the 41 training modules were done. According to the committee, 37 courses were cancelled in June while the driver/EDL track used for training was closed due to health and safety noncompliance which led to courses being cancelled since May 9 2024. 

The committee had a few months ago also inspected the Mamelodi, Rosslyn and Wonderboom fire stations which were also found to be falling apart.

At the Mamelodi fire station the committee found 60 officials, most of whom were specialists and about to retire due to old age. There were also 211 vacancies in emergency services at the time of the visit, with no replacements for two to three financial years. The committee was also told that there were only seven divers for the entire city and that access to informal settlements was limited, posing a high-risk during shack fires and emergencies.

The maintenance of fire extinguishers was not regularly done and the facility had low water pressure.

“Breakdown vehicles and equipment (chain saw, jaws of life) booked for maintenance were booked in for extended periods, affecting operations in the station. Fire hydrant and dump truck were reported to be damaged during an illegal strike,” read the report. 

There was only one fire rescue vehicle, and the cameras installed by the Gauteng provincial government were not accessible to workers for monitoring. The facility did not meet the occupational health and safety requirements because of the roof leakages.

At the Rosslyn fire station, the facility manager told the committee that the rescue and bush bumper trucks were booked in for a prolonged period, for repairs, tyres and minor accidents. The high-mast lights needed bulbs and their intercom was down while the printer was not working. Their fire extinguishers were last serviced in 2022. There was no bullets trap and no firearm safe.

The city's communications office said they needed more time to respond to questions sent to them by Sowetan regarding the city's plan to address the situation.  

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