ANC wants foreign-owned security firms booted out
They compromise country’s safety, party argues as it pushes for bill to be signed into law
THE ANC intends pressuring President Jacob Zuma to enact legislation on foreign-controlled security companies.
The party has also called on the government to immediately remove all private security companies it has contracted to guard national keypoints, fearing that national security was being compromised.
The move was emphasised at the party’s national executive committee lekgotla in Pretoria recently.
The discussion documents painted a picture of key security spots being handled by private security companies.
The Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment Bill, which is awaiting the president’s signature, seeks to prevent foreigners from having a controlling stake in private security firms.
The lekgotla’s peace and stability commission report recommends that Zuma sign the bill into law, arguing that the ownership of private security firms by foreigners was a risk to national security.
“Private security industry ownership, and its massive employment of foreigners pose a national security risk.
“The fact that the private security industry is in possession of excessive amount of capacity also poses a national security risk,” it said.
The report raised concerns about the fact that even some national keypoints were being guarded by foreign-owned private security firms.
“A number of national keypoints secured by foreignowned private security companies… noted an increase of the utilisation of private security by government,” the report said.
Among other concerns raised regarding the industry were the firms’ other work on the continent.
“Certain South African private security companies doing business on the continent sometimes get involved in activities that compromise South Africa’s diplomatic work on the continent,” it added.
If the organisation has its way, private security firms will be booted out from securing national keypoints, and the three spheres of government will be discouraged from increasing levels of security contracts awarded to private security firms.
According to the report, the security work should be done by the state’s own security services, including the SAPS.
“The government must, with immediate effect, take the leadership in securing all national keypoints using our security services. The security cluster must engage all spheres of government with regard to the utilisation of private security companies.
“The president should sign the Private Security Industry Regulation Bill without much ado to ensure that controlling interest of private security companies is in the hands of South Africans,” the report recommended.
If passed into law, the bill would force foreign-owned companies to sell 51 percent of their companies in order to continue operating in the country, a move that critics of the bill have indicated would possibly also affect job creation and investment in the sector.
About 10 percent of companies in the security industry, which is about 8 000 firms, are foreign owned and would be affected by the new law.
These are companies that provide guarding, cash-intransit services and manned security, according to the narrow definition of the security sector.
A broader version includes manufacturers of security devices like cameras and communications equipment.
The commission’s report also raised concerns that the introduction of the Public Service Management Act, which bans public servants from doing business with the government, has had little effect.
It has also called for the focus on anti-corruption activities to be extended to issues like land, buildings, licences and permits, and the provision of government services.
The commission further recommended that public servants in the security cluster, which would include prisons, prosecutions, immigration and police, be regularly moved to different locations.
“The application of the legislation should be extended to lower level managers as in most cases they are at the coalface of procurement activities and are vulnerable to financial and/or in kind inducements.
“Civil servants including those in the security cluster should be periodically rotated from one employment site to another, so as to circumvent the growth of unprofessional and frequently corrupt relations with clients, service providers and other persons they interact with,” the commission recommended.
It called for better co-operation between investigators,
Some of SA’s diplomatic work on continent affected
forensic experts and prosecutors, stating that the lack thereof was resulting in corruption cases being lost due to incomplete dockets and compromised evidence.
The lekgotla documents have formed the basis of discussion documents for the ruling party’s national general council, which is scheduled for release by the ANC today.