Johannesburg - The Democratic Alliance-led Nelson Mandela Bay metro has appointed a police chief in an effort to stabilise the crime fighting unit which has been plagued by problems since its establishment in 2012.
Mayor Athol Trollip appointed Yolanda Faro, the Cape Town metro police department’s deputy chief, to the top position in Port Elizabeth.
“After years of uncertainty and sub-standard management, our Metro Police Service is now under world-class leadership, backed by years of exceptional experience. safety and security is a priority for the metro’s new leadership. We are working tirelessly to build a metro police service that has full capacity to fight crime, enforce by-laws and administer traffic regulations. As such, we plan to have 50 fully compliant and trained officers on the beat by the end of this year,” Trollip said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Working in collaboration with the South African Police Service, Ms. Faro will ensure that our Metro Police Service conducts intervention operations on an ongoing basis in the interest of turning Nelson Mandela Bay into a safe city.”
Faro would take up her new post in December.
She is armed with a Bachelor of Technology degree in Policing, a national Diploma in Policing and 15 years of experience in safety and security experience, the municipality said. Faro had also recently held the position of acting metro police chief in Cape Town.
The Nelson Mandela metro police department has been marred by instability since its formation in 2012. Its former chief, Pinkie Mathabethe, employed in 2014, was fired in June for under-performance and failure to declare a second income. Her predecessor, Trish Armstrong, who was hired to establish the crime fighting unit, also left the municipality under a dark cloud following a settlement reached by the parties.
Armstrong claimed unfair dismissal after being fired on the eve of the launch of the police department in 2012.
African News Agency