By Fiona Forde
A solid security plan is in place for Friday's Fifa draw as hordes of police and army officers, private security personnel and intelligence agents descend on Cape Town, determined to stage a seamless event after the fiasco of the Confederations Cup.
The joint operation, which comes with a price tag of upwards of R8 million, started last Wednesday and will run to December 8 until the gaze of the world and the Fifa contingent leaves the Mother City.
According to Deputy Commissioner André Pruis, the man who heads World Cup-related operations for the police, a total of 1 587 agents have been deployed for the event, some of whom have been drafted in from other parts of the country to back up the local police force.
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All local SAPS and metro officers are either on duty or on standby until the curtain comes down. They will be reinforced by members of the defence force, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), customs, home affairs, disaster management, members of the special task force, and officers from the anti-terrorism unit.
The joint command has already begun to police Cape Town International Airport, the city's roads, and the perimeter of the CTICC, where the draw will take place.
In the coming days, the officers will become visible in cars, helicopters, on horseback and on foot, although Pruis says a number of covert mechanisms are also in place, including plain-clothes patrols and hidden cameras at ground and aerial level. "We are taking no chances," he said.
Though Pruis was reluctant to reveal too much, it is clear the authorities are not taking any risks after the security bungle during the World Cup curtainraiser in June.
Then it emerged that unqualified security guards were drafted at the 11th hour to staff the stadiums while lucrative contracts were awarded to fly-by-night companies.
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