Soweto Residents Protest Mayor’s Foreign Police Officer Proposal
Image Source: At least 200 unemployed Soweto residents marched to Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero’s office demanding jobs on 28 August 2024. Picture: Mongezi Koko/Eyewitness News
Published by Everything ZA News
Johannesburg, South Africa – Hundreds of unemployed residents from Soweto have marched to the Johannesburg Mayor’s office to protest his suggestion of hiring foreign nationals as police officers. Despite the Mayor’s subsequent apology and retraction, the residents remain outraged and feel overlooked for job opportunities.
The marchers, armed with their CVs, chanted and sang, expressing their frustration with the City of Johannesburg. They accused the metro of withholding vacancies and prioritising foreign nationals over South African citizens.
The residents placed their CVs in boxes outside the Mayor’s office, hoping to be considered for available positions. While Mayor Dada Morero was unavailable, his chief of staff, Tsumbo Nephawe, accepted the documents on his behalf.
In response to the protest, the City of Johannesburg has denied the existence of any vacant civil service positions, including those within the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD). Mayor Morero clarified that his earlier comments were intended to address the language barrier and combat crime, not to replace South African citizens with foreign workers.
Morero acknowledged the residents’ plight and assured them that he would not abandon them in their time of need. He emphasized that the metro would implement a multi-disciplinary approach to reduce unemployment and create more job opportunities for South Africans.
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