The Pointsmen, popularly known as the ‘Outsurance Pointsmen’ have been an inconvenient absence on our roads since 01 September 2019. Regardless of the service being provided at no cost to the City by the entity responsible, this critical service was abruptly cancelled by the previous administration under former Mayor Mashaba.
Over the last 15-months, our roads have been left unattended and with great inconvenience to residents during times of peak hour traffic and signal failures. This undoubtedly compromised the safety of residents on our roads.
Upon his election in December 2019, the Executive Mayor, Cllr. Geoffery Makhubo, directed that the City move swiftly to finalise new agreements with the service providers, on terms that would guarantee the services at zero cost to the City and the creation of job-opportunities for the hundreds of young people who are trained to provide these services.
“We are pleased that the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) trained 40 of the Pointsmen last month who from 11 January 2021 (took up duty alongside an additional 60 Pointsmen who were part of the programme previously,” said Mayor Makhubo.
“We urge residents to show the Pointsmen courtesy and to cooperate with their instructions on our roads. They are there to assist with the smooth flow of traffic and to ensure we are safe on the roads at all times. We are beginning to see fruits in our efforts to normalize the City after the disruption of the last four years”
The Pointsmen have been deployed to various regions through-out the City from yesterday (Tuesday) and over the next while there will be an increased deployment of the static and mobile Pointsmen.
Ed Note: We saw some of the Pointsmen hard at work in Soweto on Tuesday afternoon. Welcome back!
Image (Back at work Outsurance Pointsmen will be visible at some of our busiest road intersections).
