01-07-2025
Urgent call for investigation into Tshwane's security guards' qualifications
The FF Plus has urged the City of Tshwane to investigate the qualifications of 1,283 security guards appointed in 2021 through the insourcing process.
Image: Rapula Moatshe
The FF Plus has called on the City of Tshwane to launch an investigation into the qualifications of 1,283 security guards appointed in 2021 as part of the insourcing process, citing concerns over their lack of adequate training.
The party is also urging the city to consider using technology for specific security tasks, rather than solely relying on hiring more security guards.
This comes after the party's rejection of a report allocating R230 million over three years for benefits to contracted security guards at last week's council meeting at Tshwane House.
The report in question proposed providing medical subsidies, pension funds, and housing allowances to security guards who were hired without benefits.
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Instead of adopting the report, the FF Plus proposed a thorough investigation into whether the guards meet the requirements and to what extent technology can be used for certain tasks.
Councillor Grandi Theunissen noted that the allocated amount excluded several hidden costs, such as basic equipment and training, which he said pointed to reckless financial planning.
'The party seriously doubts whether the metro's budget can absorb the additional costs for security guards,' he said.
On Workers Day, Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMCs) from the EFF and ActionSA met with security guards at Church Square in Pretoria CBD, where they promised training security guards who were previously hired without adequate training, as well as equipping them with the necessary tools.
They also announced plans in the pipeline to insource over 200 security guards in the 2025/2026 financial year, with potential expansion to hire at least 1,500 guards in 2026/2027.
At the time, MMC for Environmental Affairs and Agriculture Obakeng Ramabodu said: 'They were left there with jeans and a T-shirt on-site without knowing what to do. That is why our infrastructure is under attack. That is why our substations are burning every week. That is why electricity is affected because the people that we have deployed to secure our infrastructure are not trained and don't have the necessary equipment.'
Hannes Coetzee, the Community Safety MMC and ActionSA councillor, said the current administration inherited more than 1,200 security guards, but the problem is that they lack training.
The FF Plus said the council report is part of the coalition government's efforts to push through their policy for the general outsourcing of security and cleaning services.
