Business mobilises security support ahead of anti-foreigner protests

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JEREMY MAGGS: Business is moving into security support mode ahead of planned anti-foreigner mobilisation on 30 June.

Business Against Crime South Africa (Bacsa) says more than 500 private sector companies are making helicopters, drones, armed vehicles, CCTV networks, medical support and other resources available to SAPS (South African Police Service) under police command.

Read: SA braces for anti-immigrant shutdown on 30 June

But this is also, I think, raising hard questions about state capacity, private security and the risk of public fear escalating into violence. Let’s talk about this in a little more detail. It’s a very serious issue.

Anton du Plessis is the chief executive officer of Business Against Crime South Africa. Anton, welcome, and maybe just a broad scope, in your opinion, how serious is this threat around the planned anti-foreigner mobilisation tomorrow?

ANTON DU PLESSIS: Yeah, I think it is serious. The public should be calm, but not complacent. I think South Africa is better prepared than it was in July 2021 because coordination is happening early.

Now, SAPS is leading, NatJoints (National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure) and provincial structures are active, and Bacsa, through its Eyes and Ears (E2) Initiative is supporting with private sector capability and capacity across all nine provinces.

But the situation does remain volatile, and I think the public needs to stay calm, follow verified information and, of course, reject vigilantism. No private group has the authority to enforce immigration law.

That would be criminality. But the priority now is  on lawful enforcement and clear communication and protecting life. But I do believe we are significantly more well prepared than we were in 2021.

JEREMY MAGGS: Calm but not complacent. What’s the general preparation then? Is it for protest, intimidation or possible violence?

ANTON DU PLESSIS: I think it’s all three. But the big difference between this moment and July 2021 is that the potential focus of the violence is not against property, but it’s against individuals and human lives. So, in some ways, that threat becomes more serious and really needs to be handled with care.

I think that’s why the private sector, through the 500 members of the Bacsa E2 Initiative have really come on board this time.

The assets and the capacity that have been brought in are quite significant. But as I said, it’s with the SAPS leading. The idea is not for the private sector to replace the state. It’s just to augment the capacity of the state in the most appropriate way.

JEREMY MAGGS: I understand the augmentation, but it does raise the question, surely, about why this level of private sector mobilisation is necessary if the SAPS is claiming that it’s properly prepared.

ANTON DU PLESSIS: Look, this is the reason why we created the E2-Plus in the first place. It’s built on the simple principle that it shows what’s possible when the state, business and the private security industry work together with clear legal mandates and under SAPS command.

I don’t think it should be seen necessarily as a sign of government weakness.

But I think, as we’ve seen with many effective partnerships, whether it’s around energy or logistics, the best model is to collaborate and draw on the collective capacities and skills that exist in the country.

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I think we should see that not necessarily, as I say, as a sign of weakness and perhaps a strategic approach which needs to be taken by the government and needs to be supported by the private sector.

JEREMY MAGGS: You don’t think it exposes a gap in the state’s own policing capacity, though?

ANTON DU PLESSIS: No. I think it’s well known that the state does have capacity challenges and various challenges when it comes to the police, and those challenges need to be addressed. The private sector can never step in to replace the state on these types of issues.

We’ve seen a significant increase in the use of private security. But this is not just about security, this is also about the rule of law.

Ultimately, when it comes to upholding the rule of law, those are state institutions, it’s their job. The role here of the private sector is to see how to support that in the most appropriate way.

But of course, it is the reality of where we are in South Africa right now that the state doesn’t have the capacity that it needs, and that’s really why this model is so important.

JEREMY MAGGS: Anton, you say business supports, government leads. I understand that. How clear, though, is that command structure on the ground?

ANTON DU PLESSIS: Yeah, it’s very clear. We’ve been doing this now since 2018 when the E2-Plus was launched and we have more than 500 members that are supporting. It’s coordinated through not only the national structures, but also through the provincial structures.

So it is a well-tested model. This spirit of coordination and support will be important in the coming days.

It’s something that we’ve tested with clear mandates under the SAPS’s control and the number of, for example, just to give you some of the figures, there are ten helicopters that have been provided, 20 piloted drones, more than 250 armed response and armoured vehicles.

But very importantly, when it comes to intelligence, access to over 7 000 CCTV cameras and live feeds that are made available to the SAPS through various mechanisms, including through secured communication platforms.

JEREMY MAGGS: What exactly can private security companies do and what are they not allowed to do?

ANTON DU PLESSIS: Well, they are they are basically providing this information and backup support, but they’re not the ones that are going to be conducting the arrests and driving the prosecutions. That has to be the role of the state. That’s where the support and the coordination comes in.

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But it’s really to provide information, to provide intelligence, if you like, from these cameras and then to provide backup support in the context of helicopters and drones so that the police can be deployed and do their jobs in the right areas.

But the other very important role, of course, is protecting property and lives, and that’s going to be a key focus of this particular period over the next few days.

JEREMY MAGGS: In that respect then, Anton, are specific malls or transport nodes, warehouses or even foreign-owned businesses being specifically prioritised?

ANTON DU PLESSIS: They are. And we’ve got the industry bodies on board this time. We’ve got much more information and a lot more intelligence that’s being brought to bear.

It is definitely going to be a focus on malls and big infrastructure to protect them.

But as I said at the beginning, one of the differences here is that the potential targets and one of the big risks is that it’s not just focusing on businesses, but it’s potentially targeting of individuals, and that’s going to be very difficult to manage.

I think that’s what we need to watch very carefully, is that not only during the big protest action, which might seem to be peaceful, it’s what happens on the fringes of it – it’s how do people and groups and vigilante groups exploit that? And that’s going to be very difficult to monitor.

Read: Protest is a right, but also a responsibility – Ramaphosa

That’s why you need constant ongoing information, intelligence flowing, and not just on 30 June, this needs to continue for many days, possibly even weeks after the 30th, because the objective must be to protect lives at this time.

JEREMY MAGGS: I know you need to be very judicious here in your answer, but what type of intelligence are you seeing about the level of coordination behind these planned demonstrations?

ANTON DU PLESSIS: At this stage, as I said, it’s difficult to know. It’s very volatile at this stage. It looks like it’s relatively well organised. We haven’t seen any very concerning forms of intelligence coming in, but it’s so volatile in the moment. I think we’ll have to watch what happens on the fringes of these protest marches.

It’s very difficult to call it, but all I can say is that, from what I’m seeing, there’s a lot better coordination. The assets are in the right place.

I think the government at this time is significantly more prepared than it was in July 2021.

But as I said, it’s a very volatile situation. I think I’ve heard someone refer to the grass being very dry and we know what can happen. That’s why people need to be prepared at all provincial levels, not just on the big national focal points.

JEREMY MAGGS: Anton du Plessis is the chief executive officer of Business Against Crime South Africa.