A total of 17 000 police officers were deployed across KwaZulu-Natal to ensure the smooth conduct of elections, with particular focus on regions deemed to require additional security measures. (Supplied/SAPS)
The South African Police Service (SAPS) has rubbished claims by the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) that there is a crisis because not all police officers have been paid overtime for the extra hours they worked during the elections.
Popcru national spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said that when the union met the various stakeholders days before the elections, an agreement was made that police officials would work two 12-hour shifts, and any hours after that would be considered overtime.
“Popcru requested reports from all provinces as to how many officers have still not received their overtime pay. We have had complaints mainly from KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape. “This is a matter we are closely looking at. We have mentioned to the SAPS that this was not a wish that police asked for, but that it was [indeed] an agreement made with the SAPS as a whole,” said Mamabolo.
South Africans need to be in the know if we want to create a prosperous future. News24 has kept the country informed for 25 years, and we’re about to enter a new chapter of fearless journalism. Join our free subscription trial to unlock this story and a world of news aimed to inform, empower, and inspire.