WATCH | State to spend R600m on security operation ahead of June 30 protests

The government will spend more than half a billion rand on a special security operation to safeguard critical infrastructure and maintain public order ahead of the planned June 30 anti-migrant demonstrations, acting police minister Firoz Cachalia said on Monday.

Speaking after a meeting held at the police’s provincial headquarters in Joburg with defence minister Angie Motshekga and senior security officials, Cachalia said police are on high alert, warning that any attempt to undermine public safety or destabilise the country will not be tolerated.

“The responsibility of the police is to ...prevent any attempts to destabilise the country.” — Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia

He said the R600m would be diverted from existing budgets and that the large-scale special operation comes at a high cost to the country.

“We’re making those resources available...and this is additional funding outside of the budget. I want people to understand the cost to the country and, therefore, to themselves of reckless behaviour,” he said.

“Money that would otherwise have been deployed, perhaps to improve safety in communities and police stations, now has to be spent on ensuring that we have the resources to deal with this protest action.”

Organisations, including March and March, have called for all undocumented migrants to leave the country by June 30.

Cachalia said any attempt to undermine public safety would be met with a firm response.

“The rule of law will indeed prevail...Should the operational environment require additional capacity, the police may request the support of the South African National Defence Force to augment existing policing capabilities and ensure that sufficient operational resources are available, particularly to protect critical infrastructure,” he said.

“We acknowledge that many South Africans have genuine concerns about issues affecting our country. However, these concerns must always be expressed lawfully, peacefully and without resorting to violence and intimidation.”

Motshekga said the army would remain on standby and would only be deployed if asked by the police, with a primary focus on protecting strategic state infrastructure.

Cachalia added that the authorities were relying on intelligence gathering and scenario planning to prepare for different eventualities.

“So we have good intelligence...We do scenario planning and then deploy optimally. We do not necessarily depend based on existing threats, because the responsibility of the police is to secure the country’s infrastructure and ensure the safety and security of its people and prevent any attempts to destabilise the country,” he said.

Cachalia also reflected on the recent voter registration weekend, saying there were no major disruptions, although authorities recorded 12 cases, four of which were linked to the murders of political activists.

Two MK Party members were killed in Gauteng, and an ANC ward councillor in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, and a DA activist in the Western Cape were also murdered.

“The political killings task team is involved in the investigation of some of these cases. My concern is for all members of all political parties who are brutally murdered.

“We are living in a society where political killings have been going on for a long time and where the numbers rise during periods of electoral mobilisation, particularly where councillors are targeted and killed. It’s outrageous. I can’t express myself more strongly on this matter,” he said.

Police also recorded five cases involving contraventions of the Electoral Act and three incidents of public violence. Six arrests were made in connection with cases of assault, malicious damage to property and public violence.

Sowetan