Gauteng Premier Lesufi says wardens’ jobs are safe after Public Protector’s findings

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has assured the province’s AmaPanyaza crime-prevention wardens that none will lose their jobs, following a Public Protector report that found the unit was created and deployed without proper legal authority.

The report, released on 22 October 2025, concluded that Gauteng’s wardens operated outside the law because the province has no constitutional power to perform policing functions. It ordered corrective steps to regularise their employment and transfer them under the correct legal framework.

Speaking after the findings, Lesufi said the unit would be restructured rather than scrapped. According to his briefing covered by IOL, the province plans a phased transition to retrain wardens as provincial traffic officers or move them into by-law enforcement and municipal security roles.

There is, however, a timing gap between the Public Protector’s remedial deadlines—which give 30 to 180 days for legal compliance—and the province’s proposed three-year rollout. Lesufi maintains the longer plan is needed to ensure all wardens are absorbed and properly trained.

The province says it is working with the Minister of Police, the Minister of Justice, and the Road Traffic Management Corporation to align the wardens’ future roles with national legislation. The goal is to keep them employed while meeting the constitutional and legal standards set out in the report.