The City of Johannesburg spends more than R16-million every month on private security – yet break-ins, theft and vandalism have cost the City more than R182-million in just five years. Even with more than 4,000 insourced guards available, the City continues to outsource critical protection work, fuelling suspicions that politically connected contractors are benefiting from repeated emergency extensions – and the City refuses to comment. Joburg is spending more than R16-million every month on outsourced private security, including more than R1-million just to guard the condemned Metro Centre, a building so unsafe it cannot even house municipal staff.
Yet despite this huge expenditure, break-ins at city facilities have cost the City more than R182-million over the past five years, according to written responses to questions submitted by DA councillor Shakes Chabalala during the October council meeting. Despite this, the City continues to pay more than R1-million every month to secure the unused precinct through outsourced contractors. According to Chabalala: “The City used Regulation 36 to push these contracts through urgently, and we are questioning why the urgency.” This regulation allows municipalities to bypass competitive bidding in emergencies or when it is “impractical or impossible” to follow normal procedures – a clause widely criticised for enabling abuse.
He continues: “We have our own internal guards – 1,028 officers actually deployed – and a total of more than 4,000 insourced security personnel on the payroll. Why are we paying private contractors when we already have our own people?” Chabalala also alleges political interference: “We suspect some of the companies are linked to high-ranking politicians. This raises red flags about tender manipulation and political influence and that is why we are concerned about the secrecy that results from Regulation 36.” Many of the City’s permanent guards were originally stationed at the Metro Centre, yet have not been redeployed to replace private firms.
Read Full Article on Daily Maverick
[paywall]
For Chabalala, this represents a double cost: “Taxpayers fund permanent staff, and then pay again for private contractors doing the same work.” But the Metro Centre is just one part of a far bigger system. The written responses show that 145 municipal facilities are guarded by private firms at a cost exceeding R15-million every month, in addition to the Metro Centre’s bill. Yet vandalism, copper theft, equipment stripping and illegal occupation remain widespread. Over five years, these security failures have resulted in losses exceeding R182-million, which Chabalala says “shows the system is not only expensive but deeply ineffective”.
[/paywall]
