Are South Africa’s politicians lives under threat any more than the average South African? The bill for police protection has soared. This revelation comes on the back of financial reports which indicate a huge national bill for entertainment and travel expenses incurred by politicians. While some will believe that political leaders are rightly concerned about their personal security, the opposition Democratic Alliance suggests that the uptick in money paid for police bodyguards and chauffeurs amounts to pampering. South Africa has a sickeningly high violent crime rate, with murders and robberies so frequent that very few make the news agenda. However, with rampant financial mismanagement across state-owned entities and cliques benefiting from state contracts, it is hard to believe that the 18% increase in spending on Very Important Person Protection Services is little more than yet another taxpayer-funded perk for elected rulers. – Jackie Cameron

By Tammy Petersen

Cape Town – An 18% expenditure increase for the SAPS VIP Protection Services could have gone a long way to addressing the “woeful state of affairs” at station level, DA Shadow Minister of Police Zakhele Mbhele said on Sunday.

“The SAPS Annual Report for 2015/16 has revealed that actual expenditure on VIP Protection Services went up 18% from R977.9 million in 2014/15 to R1.16 billion in 2015/16,” He said in a statement.

“This exorbitant amount spent on the pampered executive elite, and the increase thereof from last year, is shameful, especially when one takes into account the chronic state of under-resourcing of police stations across South Africa.”

“The SAPS has been characterised by the four U’s, being under-resourced, under-staffed, under-equipped and under-trained, which have a direct impact on their ability to carry out their mandate of keeping South Africans safe.

“Not only are there usually too few operational officers at station level, but they are also short of the basic equipment, such as vehicles, radios, and protective gear to carry out their jobs.”

Mbhele said the money could have been used to address policing issues at local level, which according to crime statistics had increased since last year.

He hoped the police’s “back-to-basics” approach for the current financial year would “demonstrate a marked departure from this kind of excess”. 

“Our people, rather than politicians, must be put first. The amount spent on VIP Protection Services clearly shows that the SAPS leadership had skewed priorities in the previous financial year and seemed to be more concerned with protecting and driving around VIP executives, rather than with spending money on better staffing, equipping and training of SAPS officers.”

News24

Source: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/saps-vip-expenditure-upped-to-r12bn-20161002