Private Security Bill threatens safety of South Africans
The Democratic Alliance (DA) rejects the draft Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment Bill tabled by Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa.
The Bill seeks to restrict the foreign ownership of security companies and gives the Police Minister the power to determine the percentage of ownership and control in respect of different categories of the security business.
Imposing restrictions on the ownership of security companies will discourage investment in the sector, jeopardising jobs as well as peoples' safety. Perhaps the Minister needs to be reminded that we have one of the highest crime rates in the world - we need more crime-fighting bodies, not fewer.
The claims by government that the ownership of these security companies poses a threat to national security are not adequately backed up by concrete evidence. The DA challenges Minister Mthethwa to provide evidence to the Portfolio Committee on Police to support his assertions.
The fact is that people increasingly rely on the private security industry to protect them and their property because the Police Ministry is failing to adequately protect citizens. Indeed citizens spend R6 billion annually on the industry because the current government fails to keep them safe.