KZN DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT SPEARHEADS TRAFFIC OFFICERS PAY HIKE 

For the first time in 18 years the Road Traffic Inspectors will receive a pay increase. This follows protracted two-year negotiations at the Committee of Transport Officials (COTO), a national body comprising all heads of departments of transport. 

The move to increase the salaries of officers by just over 30 percent was initiated by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport (DOT) at a National Conference of Traffic Officials held at the International Conference Centre in Durban in 2000 that included traffic officers from around the country.

 The endeavour to adjust the traffic officers' salaries followed a paper delivered at the conference by Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa, Head of the KZN Transport Department, on corruption practiced by traffic officers.

 'The officers last had a pay adjustment in 1984. This may, perhaps, be the reason why some of them may be corrupt. This by no means condones the illegal and corrupt actions of some of the officers. We have demonstrated that we despise corruption through the conviction and dismissal from work of those caught doing these despicable actions,' said S'bu Ndebele, KZN MEC of Transport. 

On Minister Ndebele's instruction, Dr Mbanjwa introduced this matter to COTO. A sub-committee dealing with this matter was then formed and led by Mr Ben Mehale, Limpopo's Head of Department of Transport, himself a former traffic officer. This sub-committee has been in charge of persuading national government to grant the dispensation. 

The KZN DOT will implement this pay hike as from the 01 October 2002 backed dated to 01 July 2002. 

'Our traffic officers continued, throughout the years, to be the best traffic law enforcement agency in the country despite the low salaries they earned over the years. This shows the dedication the officers in this department have to their work,' said the MEC Ndebele. 

It is also interesting to note that the management of the department, on behalf of its workers, negotiated this substantial salary increase, said Minister Ndebele.  

'I have always been of the opinion that if you have a contented staff compliment you will always have good work done. This is the reason why I urged my head of department to spearhead this process, which we are happy has finally been agreed upon,' said Minister Ndebele. 

The decision is a national one and will also affect officers in other provinces. What this means is that for the first time in 18 years, the KZN Road Traffic Inspectorate will be able to retain most of all their trained staff and not lose them to often better paying road traffic departments in the local government sphere. The department, will infact for the first time in so many years, be able to recruit staff from other areas to beef up the deficient staff compliment. 

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