Pretoria - The process to employ 4 000 in-house security guards by the City of Tshwane will be implemented by the end of this year, at a cost of R266 million.
The MMC for Community Safety, Karen Meyer, said the guards would be appointed in a new directorate called the Asset Protection Unit, under the auspices of the Tshwane metro police department.
“We are talking about between 3 000 and 4 000 security guards. In fact, the process has started already with the advertising of positions for senior management three weeks ago,” she said.
The hiring of security guards would mark an end to the outsourcing of security services from private companies, she noted.
Meyer said the employment of guards would be phased in over a period of two to three years.
“We are very excited about this because we believe that one of the crucial aspects of the City has shifted to protection services,” she said.
Previously, the outsourced security guards said they didn’t want the vacancies for the in-house unit to be advertised, fearing that it might result in their losing their jobs.
But Meyer said: “We can’t just take someone over from another company because we don’t know the vetting process it followed to make sure that those people are the right people for the job.”
She said it was important for the City to make sure applicants were qualified and had the necessary qualifications for the job.
“We encourage the security guards to apply for those positions once they have been advertised,” she said.