EThekwini spends R1bn on ‘sleeping’ guards
eThekwini municipal infrastructure is vulnerable to vandalism and destruction despite the municipality spending more than R1bn on private security companies to guard the sites.
This is revealed in an internal report that probed the feasibility of dumping private security and insourcing metro security services. The report recommends staying with the status quo.
The vulnerability of municipal infrastructure became apparent during an illegal municipal strike from February 27 as strikers damaged and destroyed essential facilities. Thirteen municipal workers appeared in the Durban magistrate’s court this week on charges of public violence and vandalising infrastructure.
However, before the strike, the city had already noted “an unjustifiable loss of over R80m worth of council assets on guarded sites”, according to the report, which is dated February 26. It revealed that there had been 320 incidents of vandalism, theft, robbery and break-ins in the city.
“The [security management] unit’s assessment reports on the performance of the contracted service providers confirmed that the deployed hired security guards were mostly found sleeping on duty or conspiring with crime suspects.
“As a result, numerous heads of unit have requested security orders not to be renewed, as trust in outsourced services dwindles, leaving over 200 municipal sites susceptible to all forms of criminal opportunism,” reads the report.
“It was reported that currently the municipality is spending an estimated R1.3bn for 1,300 sites with 547 guards.
“The criminal incident database given to internal audit in January this year by the security management unit comprised of 320 cases of security breaches in various municipal facilities that occurred between March 2021 and August 2022 — the most recent spate of robberies and break-ins resulting from security breaches are theft and vandalism to municipal properties.”
For 19 years, the city has contracted private security but, according to the report, has “struggled to revise conditions of contract to accommodate the new and emergent security threats from organised crime syndicates and other unwelcome delinquents”.
“As a result, over the past six years the city has experienced a substantial decrease in the performance by contracted security companies while the security rates skyrocketed.”
Despite this, the municipality is sticking to outsourcing. The study looked at maintaining private security, insourcing and hybrid security services.
Insourcing was estimated to cost more than R4bn “and the costs to include operating and capital budget related thereto”.
ActionSA councillor Zwakele Mncwango rejected the report’s recommendations. “The cost analysis that is the basis of this report is bogus; you can’t complain about R4bn when the council writes off billions. This report is meant to ensure that workers continue to be exploited and those who have been benefiting continue to benefit.”
A municipal spokesperson said the city had resolved to conduct “a further investigation to consider introducing the social solidarity economy”.
It was reported that currently the municipality is spending an estimated R1.3bn for 1,300 sites with 547 guards eThekwini municipal report