R600m for 30 June protest security sparks calls for full breakdown

Government is being criticised for allocating R600 million to strengthen security measures ahead of the 30 June anti-immigration protest.

Ian Cameron, chair of the portfolio committee on police, said it was an extraordinary amount of public money and it requires a full explanation.

Cameron slammed spend ahead of 30 June protests

Cameron said the public cannot simply be told that hundreds of millions will be spent without a clear breakdown of what will be procured, which units will be deployed, what operational period the amount covers and what controls were in place to prevent waste or abuse.

“There is a legitimate need for the South African Police Service (Saps) to prepare properly for any protest that may carry a risk of violence and public disorder.

“However, the need for readiness does not remove the obligation to account for the cost,” said Cameron.

“If we had properly learned the lessons of the July 2021 unrest, Saps would not now need to spend more than R600 million on a special 30 June operation. Preparedness is cheaper than panic.”

He said intelligence-led policing was cheaper than emergency mobilisation.

Intelligence-led policing cheaper

He said police officers were paid monthly, so any additional allocation must be justified as additional operational expenditure.

“That may include overtime, travel and subsistence, fuel, vehicles, public order policing equipment, air support, intelligence coordination, logistics, command centres, deployment costs and support from other law-enforcement structures.”

He said until Saps provides the detailed breakdown, it was unclear whether the R600 million was necessary, inflated or poorly planned.

The portfolio committee expects Saps and the department to account for this, he said.

The key questions were simple: who approved this amount, from which budget line will it come, what exactly will it be spent on, will it affect normal policing elsewhere and what safeguards exist to prevent procurement abuse.

Portfolio committee wants answers on budget lines

He would also engage the finance ministry on budgetary reforms to drive intelligence-led policing.

“This is not only about making Saps more proactive.

“It is also about reducing the emergency cost implications that arise when the state reacts late, rather than preparing properly.”

Witness Maluleke, senior criminologist at the University of Limpopo, said: “The country is facing a lot of problems. Channelling a lot of money to a temporary circumstance like this is not a good decision.”

Maluleke said Saps officials cannot police the looming unrest or protest. Many regard them as incompetent and they do not have the capacity to do so.

Tell public what money will be spent on

Mike Bolhuis, an investigator specialising in serious violent, economic and cybercrime, said there was a need to tell the public what the money would be spent on.

He asked what if the day passed without anything happening as a result of the previous government media campaign aimed at sensitising the public about the danger associated with the possible violence on the day.

“The solution lies in communication, proper planning, as well as a proper project being put in place with infrastructure that can handle it.

“So, in my opinion, the possibility is there that this day can come and go, but there is also a possibility that it can totally flare up.

“We, as well as many others, newspapers and authorities have been putting out a lot of information warning not to get involved, not to turn violent, not to throw the proverbial stones, not to provoke, not to send false information or rumours, not to do anything but to await whatever is the government’s solution.”