Johannesburg – Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane should give clarity on the future of provincial police commissioner Mzwandile Petros, the DA said on Monday.

Democratic Alliance MPL Kate Lorimer said Petros’s contract would expire on August 15.

“The premier must indicate whether the executive has been consulted, and explain the delays in clarifying the future of this position,” she said.

Earlier this month, police spokesman Lt-Gen Solomon Makgale said national police commissioner Riah Phiyega was handling the matter.

“Lt-General Petros and the national commissioner General Riah Phiyega are in discussions about his contract and other matters… Phiyega will make an announcement in this regard in the near future,” said Makgale.

Lorimer said an update was needed on what was happening.

“If the premier and… Phiyega are at loggerheads over Gauteng’s top cop, we deserve to know,” she said.

Lorimer said the uncertainty surrounding Petros’s contract did not help the fight against crime, or the morale of the police service in the province.

Mokonyane’s spokesman Thebe Mohatle said he could not immediately comment on the matter.

“Any matter pertaining to that will be duly communicated when the time is right,” he said.

Petros served as provincial commissioner of the Western Cape for seven years and has held his current position in Gauteng for almost three years.

Sapa