General Fannie Masemola’s SA Police Service (SAPS) is, according to Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, mandated to co-ordinate provision of physical security at “organs of state”, including National Key Points NKPs.
This was part of her written response to a question from uMkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP) National Assembly (NA) parliamentarian Moshome Motubatse. He wanted to know why private security companies were used at, among others, airports.
On NKPs Ntshavheni’s reply has it the SAPS Protection and Security Services (PSS) division is responsible, adding “the owner of the institution or NKP is responsible for appointing a service provider to secure the facility”. This can either be in-house security or a private security company. “As such, the responsibility of providing security is not allocated to the state.”
Confirmation of SAPS as the lead government agency in this regard came from Defence and Military Veterans Minister, Angie Motshekga, when answering another MKP (uMkhonto we Sizwe Party) parliamentarian. Edward Ntshingila wanted to know why private sector companies were used for NKP security and not the SA National Defence Force (SANDF).
He was informed by the Minister the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2019 “functionally entrusted/empowered” the SAPS National Commissioner (Masemola) to deal with protection of critical infrastructure. He is also responsible for co-ordinating co-operation between his service and “other arms of State, including the SANDF”.
NKPs include Eskom coal and nuclear power stations as well as pumped storage schemes and transmission facilities. Also in the NKP fold are airports and what are deemed strategic transport infrastructure such as tunnels for both road and rail. Dams, including Gariep, Theewaterskloof, Midmar and the Vaal River system are also classified as NKPs.
NKPs and their protection set out in the NKP Act of 1980 have migrated to the 2019 Critical Infrastructure Protection Act.
The provision of in-house or private security has been over-ridden with, in one instance, soldiers deployed at Eskom power stations on the eastern Mpumalanga Highveld to assist in preventing cable theft. During the 2021 outbreak of violence and looting in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, soldiers from the SA Army regulars and reserves found themselves on duty at toll roads and bridges deemed to be potential sites for anarchy.
Where institutions and organisations such as Eskom and the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) contract with private security companies they have to ensure “strict requirements” are met.
Private security companies appointed to guard state institutions and NKPs must be registered with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA), the private security industry regulator.
The State Security Agency (SSA) as per Ntshavheni’s reply, supports the SAPS by “providing forewarning to potential and identified threats” to institutions and NKPs.
