A KENTON civic group has taken up the cause of municipal-appointed security guards who have allegedly not been paid.
The Group for Change Social Co-operative which Rev Mlibi Wopa launched in Ekuphumleni in October, has been active on the Community Police Forum (CPF) in Kenton and discovered that some security guards employed by Kenton Safety and Security Committee have not been paid.
The Kenton Safety and Security Committee was formed when Merry Hill was experiencing many housebreaking incidents and wanted to build a fence around the suburb. The committee obtained funding from the municipality to pay security guards in town and in Ekuphumleni, Wopa explained.
At the time, the security guards worked for Web Security before the company folded and was replaced by Hi-Tec in Kenton.
Ndlambe municipal manager Rolly Dumezweni took over the administration of payments when he became municipal manager. But Wopa said the money was paid to the security guards through the commander of the Kenton police station, Captain Cowan Cannon.
Wopa said he wished to raise the matter with Cannon at a recent CPF meeting, but Cannon was absent.
Wopa was concerned about irregularities in payments.
Wopa also criticised the Bushman’s/Kenton Community Police Forum. In a letter to the CPF, he said that the CPF should “investigate whether or not there are financial discrepancies in the administration of these funds”.
Wopa alleged that only the security guards in Kenton had been paid, but not the security guards in Ekuphumleni.
CPF public relations officer Fundi Fihlani said the matter was discussed at a subsequent meeting held last Wednesday night. It was resolved that Captain Cannon would provide Wopa with payment records and that Wopa should contact Ndlambe Municipality regarding how the funding came about and what it was allocated for.
“We as the CPF do not handle any payments that were made to the community guards,” Fihlani said.
Municipal spokesman Cecil Mbolekwa did not respond to requests for comment.
