MEDIA STATEMENT

MEC CONDEMNS POLICE STRIKE

The KwaZulu-Natal MEC for transport, safety and security Mr Bheki Cele has issued a stern warning to Ethekwini Metro policemen who used police vehicles to block the city’s roads that if they embark on a similar action again they will face the full might of the law.

Cele said he would make sure that members of the SAPS and members of the department of transport’s Public Transport Enforcement Unit (PTEU) and the majority of the Ethekwini Metro Police will be in full force to ensure that members of the public travel safely to and from work and to ensure that those who break the traffic laws by mounting illegal road blocks are dealt with harshly.

Cele also condemned the DA for supporting the protest and that it must desist from being part of disruptions." The DA must not make policing a party political issue they must be able to distinguish between a genuine strike and anarchy. If they want to condone lawlessness and anarchy in the city they must come out clear, said Cele."

"This does not mean that as a democratically elected government we don’t respect unions, but their actions such as the Friday’s strike which brought the city to a standstill, will not be tolerated. I would advice the members who were part of the protest to follow labour relations processes if they have issues to raise with the management. "The City of Durban and the province as a whole will not tolerate anarchy where by those who are supposed to enforce the law break it," said Cele.

On Friday Cele dispatched members of the Road Traffic Inspectorate’s elite special operations and the (PTEU) to disperse the blockades.

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