Johannesburg – The abbreviation for Gauteng Province, “GP,” has informally been interpreted as “Gangsters Paradise,” which appears to have instilled enough concern in city officials to require an enhancement in personal security measures.

Considering that Gauteng accounts for 26.9% of all documented crimes in the country, it’s no surprise that the mayor of Johannesburg is requesting at least 10 bodyguards, while the Speaker argues that eight would provide sufficient reassurance.

The critical issue remains that residents, who are themselves contending with various criminal activities, will ultimately shoulder the financial responsibility of ensuring the safety of the mayor and Speaker.

As a result, the security-conscious City of Johannesburg opted to implement a VIP protection policy on 20 March 2024.

“We promptly expressed our objections within the Council and warned the City that this policy violates constitutional limitations, urging them to retract it,” said Cllr Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Johannesburg Caucus Leader.

“However, the ANC-EFF-PA-ActionSA coalition dismissed our concerns and used their majority to push this through the council.”

From the beginning, there appeared to be significant problems with this policy, particularly since the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs limits bodyguard numbers to two for the mayor and other officials.

This past Thursday (2 January 2025), the Johannesburg High Court deemed the City’s VIP protection policy “unconstitutional and invalid.”

It’s no surprise that the DA in Johannesburg is celebrating, asserting that they “kicked off 2025 on a positive note, achieving victory in our legal challenge against the City of Johannesburg’s VIP protection policy.”

Cllr Kayser-Echeozonjoku commented, “Unfortunately, the City has been reminded once again of the expensive consequences of ignoring the rule of law.”

Nonetheless, the ruling has been suspended until 14 February 2025 to give the City of Johannesburg time to perform a “threat and risk analysis” that substantiates the need for extra bodyguards for the mayor and Speaker.

“We don’t anticipate much from this, given their inability to provide such assessments for over a year,” remarked Cllr Kayser-Echeozonjoku.

“The DA has continuously argued that funding should focus on residents rather than lavish VIP protection for politicians.

“We remain dedicated to advocating for the residents of Johannesburg and upholding the rule of law.

“This is what the City of Johannesburg will now be obligated to comply with.”