President Cyril Ramaphosa says the ever-growing emergence of private security firms in the country is not an indictment of government’s ability to provide security to citizens.
Ramaphosa was responding to a question from Freedom Front Plus MP Frederik Mulder in parliament during a question-and-answer session on Thursday.
Mulder charged that South Africa has 300 000 registered private security officers, and 4 500 security firms with a combined turnover of more than R100-billion a year.
“This is a clear indication that South Africans have lost faith in the government and its ability to fulfill its constitutional mandate, which guarantees the safety of South African citizens,” said Mulder.
Ramaphosa disagreed, saying private security is a modern phenomenon that cannot be avoided.
According to the president, even the most developed countries across the world have a large presence of private security personnel.
Therefore, he added, private security acted to complement government-sponsored policing, not to replace it.
“We must accept that private security is a modern feature of modern society. It depends on the preferences of individuals and households where people live and companies,” said Ramaphosa.
“For instance, where people live in enclosed estates, it is not the police who guard them, it is private security.
“In the end, we are finding that cooperation between private security and the police is something we find very helpful.
“And our cooperation increases and enhances the eyes and the ears of the SA police and they work well together, which in many ways should enhance the safety of our people.”
Ramaphosa said private security should not be frowned upon, as it also operates within the necessary legislative prescripts.
“We do not see private security as an enemy, we see them as an added force that enhances the safety of our people.”
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa.
