By Angela Quintal
National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi has never been a fan of private security companies.
Some of them, he has said in the past, are nothing more than vigilante groups and he has criticised their use by affluent communities.
It has also concerned him that they have more "men and women under (small) arms than the South African police and the South African National Defence Force" combined.
'How can the public be expected to have confidence in the SAPS' However, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula disclosed in parliament on Tuesday that the South African Police Service is spending a whopping R3,8-million a month, or R45-million a year, on private security companies.
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A total of 145 police premises countrywide have contracted private security firms. These include police stations, police headquarters in Pretoria at R186 637 a month, VIP protection offices in Pretoria and Cape Town, the Commercial Crime Unit in Johannesburg, several training colleges and even a shooting range in Graaff-Reinet.
Nqakula said there were two contracts for security services, which would expire in March next year. More than 20 private security companies were involved, including one called the Die Hard Youth, contracted to the police's Crowd Management Unit in Hazyview at a cost of R15 070 a month.
Other companies include Chubb Protective Services, Protea Security, Anchor Security, Impala Security, Secuforce, Security Wise and Coin Security. The average cost was about R30 000 a month.
The minister disclosed this information in a written reply to a parliamentary question from Democratic Alliance MP Roy Jankielsohn.
"In light of this fact," asked Jankielsohn in a media statement, "how can the public be expected to have confidence in the SAPS?"
Jankielsohn said that because the government had failed in its responsibility to resource the SAPS properly, "our country's official protectors cannot even protect themselves from criminals".
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