Police Committee sends back shoddy Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment Bill
The DA welcomes the unanimous decision by the Portfolio Committee on Police to send the Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment Bill back to the SAPS law advisors and Police Secretariat.
The DA has been vehemently opposed to much of this Bill from the outset. The private security industry is currently regulated, and indeed needs to be regulated, but we are opposed to the proposals which go against the Constitution and international treaties. These include, for example, the forced sale of 51% of foreign-owned private security companies to South Africans, and preventing any foreigner living legally and permanently in South Africa from working in the private security industry.
The claims that the ownership of these private security companies by foreign companies poses a threat to national security are made on a political whim. When asked for proof of this ‘threat' neither PSIRA, nor the Secretary of Police, could provide proof, or state that any research had been done to support this claim.
The truth is that people in South Africa increasingly rely on the private security industry to protect them and their property because the Police Ministry is failing to protect citizens. No one actually wishes to have to pay twice to be safe in their own home. Firstly residents are taxed to pay the SAPS R62,4 billion a year; and because of their failures, residents then pay an additional R50 billion to the private security industry.
There would be no market for the private security industry if the SAPS just did the job they were paid to do.
As proposed, the Bill would potentially have led to massive job losses, decreased investment in South Africa and a security risk to all South Africans. The upshot of the proposed amendments to the Bill would be that fewer trained law enforcement and security personnel would be available.
This would leave all citizens, and especially the poor who rely on the SAPS as their sole source of protection, more vulnerable to crime as SAPS would have to spread their resources more thinly.
The committee today agreed unanimously that it must be sent back to be redrafted in line with the Constitution, the laws of South Africa and with international bilateral investment treaties. The issues with Trade and Industry, Home Affairs, the Treasury and other Ministries should all have been dealt with prior to this Bill being put before the committee.
No research has been done on possible disinvestment when faced with the forced sale of 51% of foreign-owned companies; no research has been done on the deterrence of foreign investment or of the means to determine and limit foreign ownership of shares sold freely on the Stock Exchange, or the possibility of claims under the SA-UK bilateral investment treaty.
The DA finds it astounding that the Minister even presented this Bill to the committee.
It will now be sent back to the SAPS law advisors and the Police Secretariat to be redrafted.
The DA sincerely hopes that they will not return the Bill to the committee with the same ridiculous proposals which smack of xenophobia.
Statement issued by Dianne Kohler Barnard MP, DA Shadow Minister of Police, November 7 2012
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