​The Executive Mayor, Cllr Geoff Makhubo and the MMC for Public Safety, Cllr Mally Mokoena have wrapped up a weeklong whirlwind tour of the City showing appreciation to frontliners in law enforcement for their hard work during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The initiative, which crisscrossed all seven regions of the City, also doubled as a consultative drive, giving JMPD's Specialised Units a platform to interact with the City's leadership.

Cllr Makhubo says it's paramount for the City to show appreciation for the sterling work officers have displayed against lawlessness and anarchy.

“I would like to thank them for serving our City selflessly during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown and for ensuring that our residents are safe and comply with the Disaster Management Act," says the Mayor.

He says the consultative drive came out with vital future lessons for the Government of Local Unity.

“We are starting a culture of open communication across all City entities to enable all public servants to vent their challenges. Our doors are always open," he says.

Cllr Makhubo says all challenges raised during the roadshow will be attended to in specific timeframes.

“I have noted the grievances and challenges faced by JMPD officers. We shall be putting timeframes to help solve the challenges raised to ensure conditions are improved and our officers remain motivated to serve the City. To all JMPD Officers let's continue to work hard and build Joburg to be a safe, sustainable and liveable City."

As part of efforts to acknowledge work done during the hard lockdown, all of the City's frontliners will receive a Covid-19 allowance and an ex-gratia payment totalling R1 000. The money will be paid to qualifying employees who were required to physically report for duty during lockdown levels 5 and 4 as approved by the Mayoral Committee.

“This allowance is payable to only essential service employees and employees who were directly in support thereof. It will be made through a special pay run, which is outside the normal pay date," says Dr Ndivhoniswani Lukhwareni, the City Manager.