AmaPanyaza is a costly experiment in failure

If wasting taxpayer money on a doomed crime-fighting unit were an Olympic sport, Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi would win a gold medal for his Gauteng crime prevention wardens, also known as amaPanyaza, launched with great fanfare in early 2023.

- By Takudzwa Pongweni

Their mission was straightforward: fight crime, patrol neighbourhoods, report suspicious activity and restore a sense of safety. Thousands of mostly unemployed people were recruited with promises of jobs and purpose in the battle against Gauteng's soaring crime rates.

But they had no proper training or legal authority to arrest and little supervision, making them less saviours and more neighbourhood nuisances.