Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa must clarify how he plans to fill thousands of vacancies to be created following his decision to terminate R339-million worth of labour brokers' contracts, the DA said on Sunday.

Spokesperson Dianne Kohler-Barnard said in a statement that among the temporary employees used by the South African Police Service were thousands of private security guards used in peripheral security positions, which helped free up the number of officers available for operational duty.

Kohler-Barnard said Mthethwa announced his decision in a reply to a parliamentary question, but that he had not explained how he reached his decision.

She would be writing to him on Monday for an explanation.

Kohler-Barnard presumed that Mthethwa's decision meant that more police officers would now have to be diverted to these secondary positions, leaving fewer resources available for protecting the public.

She said Mthethwa indicated in his parliamentary reply that in 2008/2009, his department spent R339-million on labour brokers, including private security firms.

The previous year, R112-million was spent on private security alone, and in 2008/2009, 197 police stations used private security companies to guard and control access.

Kohler-Barnard said the decision meant nearly 200 police stations would now have to divert officers away from core responsibilities towards the peripheral roles filled by placed temporary employees.

She said it also meant R339-million of salaried positions, probably amounting to about 3000 posts, needed to be filled in the next financial year for the SAPS to continue in its current operational capacity.

"One can only imagine this is an attempt to appease calls from the far left for labour-broking to be banned and constitutes further evidence that unions are anti-poor and are set on preventing those people without jobs, from obtaining them," Kohler-Barnard said.

She said the minister needed to explain on what basis he made his decision as there was no justification for banning labour brokers.