Swakopmund car guards need to register for 2019

Sharlien Tjambari

All car guards who registered at the Swakopmund municipality in 2018 are requested to report at the municipality’s training room tomorrow, Wednesday 16 January 2019 at 09:00. The meeting will be used as a platform to disseminate information and requirements for car guards to register for 2019.

The registration process itself will commence thereafter and closes on Thursday. In a recent interview with Namib Times, the Swakopmund municipal traffic chief Melvin Cloete said they experienced a number of challenges last year with car guards. Some registered and just disappeared never getting down to the job they registered for. Moreover they disappear taking the reflective jacket along which is mostly bought with donor funds.
“Normally the Swakopmund municipality depend on sponsors for the reflective jackets. As a result of the ongoing problem, car guards will this year have to buy their own reflective jackets. No donations were received for this year to buy reflective jackets anyway”, explained Cloete.
Once registered, the car guards will be issued with a permit and they will get a letter from the Swakopmund municipality which will enable them to buy their jacket from Safewear Namibia.
Cloete hopes this year for car guards to wear pink reflective jackets, to distinguish them from those wearing yellow reflective vests. That would indicate those who did not register for 2019 and would thus be doing car guard work illegally.
The application process also involves screening of the applicants by the Namibian Police for a criminal record.
“Car guards are assigned to a specific area. Most of them never want to rotate, because they love working were they were placed and have developed a relationship with their customers. I would like to urge the community to start helping car guards and give them tips. I have observed that some of them even save up their money and use them for studies”, explained Cloete.
He further explained apart from registering and meeting the set requirements car guards don’t pay any fees to the municipality that would enable them to carry out their duties. “We do not offer them employment, but we only help them with permits and registration”.