DA, Mpumalanga government clash over R52 million warden programme

MPUMALANGA – A R52 million public safety programme is at the centre of a dispute between the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Mpumalanga government over the deployment and expenditure involving 1,200 Crime Prevention Wardens (CPWs).

The DA has accused the provincial government of paying wardens who were allegedly not being deployed, while the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison (DCSSL) has rejected the claims, saying the figures are misleading and that some wardens have since been converted into Traffic Wardens and Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) Brigades.

DA MPL Teboho Sekaledi has written to Premier Mandla Ndlovu calling for intervention.

“This is pure wasteful and fruitless expenditure,” Sekaledi said. “The department has paid R52.8 million to 1,200 Crime Prevention Wardens who, according to the information we have received, have not been utilised since October 2025.”

The DA based its calculation on a reported monthly stipend of R4,000 per warden. For 1,200 wardens, this amounts to R4.8 million a month, which the party says totals R52.8 million over 11 months.

The department, however, disputes the calculation.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, DCSSL spokesperson Moeti Mmusi said the programme had a total allocation of R52 million over two years, rather than R52.8 million being spent in 11 months.

According to the department, the CPW contracts started on 1 December 2024 and will expire on 30 November 2026.

The wardens were initially trained in crime prevention by a PSiRA-accredited service provider at a cost of approximately R3.2 million before being deployed to 90 police stations across the province.

However, the department said their deployment at police stations later faced challenges because there was no legislation fully supporting their use in those environments.

The wardens were subsequently converted into Traffic Wardens and GBVF Brigades.

Those converted into Traffic Wardens were trained at the Mpumalanga Traffic Training College and are assisting with traffic-related and road-safety initiatives.

The department also said some CPWs were converted into GBVF Brigades and trained to combat gender-based violence and femicide in communities alongside various stakeholders.

The DA, however, disputes the department’s account.

Sekaledi said CPWs who spoke to the party anonymously claimed they had not been deployed as GBVF Brigades and were concerned about their future when their contracts expire.

The DA also questioned the value of the Traffic Warden training, alleging that the wardens had remained at home despite being trained for school safety, pedestrian management, traffic control and road-safety duties.

At the centre of the dispute are conflicting accounts over how much has been spent on the programme and how many of the 1,200 wardens are currently deployed.

The department says the programme is being assessed ahead of the expiry of the wardens’ contracts at the end of November 2026.