Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) 2018/19 budget

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Police

24 April 2018
Chairperson: Mr F Beukman (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

Annual Performance Plan (APP) of Government Departments & Entities 2018/19

The Chairperson raised three issues for discussion ahead of the presentation by the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) of its annual performance plan. He asked Members to provide input on the protests in North West Province, the incident at the soccer game at Moses Mabhida Stadium, and the arrest of 12 suspected rhino poachers in the Kruger National Park over the past five days, one of whom was a South African Police Service (SAPS) member from Skukuza police station.

Members said the North West Province unrest underlined the need for SAPS to communicate more with the community, and the stadium incident spoke to understaffing, lack of resources of the SAPS’ public order policing (POP) units, and inadequate planning. Clubs also needed to provide adequate security. A Member asserted that the arrest of a SAPS member in the Kruger National Park confirmed that there was collusion involving SAPS members and poachers, while another suggested that as the poachers were now working from KwaZulu Natal (KZN), another meeting between the Departments of Justice and Police might be needed.

PSIRA said the critical issues for PSIRA in 2018/19 were a review of the funding model, especially the Guarantee Fund and Levies Act; an organisational review and redesign of the organisation’s structure; a review of training standards for the private security lndustry; capacitating the law enforcement programme to reduce the inspector to security business ratio; strengthening corporate governance through industry sector committees; transformation; and increased awareness of the PSiRA brand. The medium-term budget had grown at an average of 7.5%. Expenditure had increased by an average of 13% over the past four years with personnel costs comprising 59% of the total. Employee costs had increased by 21% due to cost of living salary increases and provision for an additional 15 employees to be recruited in 2018/19 financial year. Property rentals had increased by 35% through the opening of new offices.

Members asked if PSIRA had met with the new Minister to intervene with the Office of the Presidency over the processing of the Amendment Act because the process had been ongoing for four years. What was PSIRA doing about the flurry of cash in transit heists, because it was their members who were being injured or killed? Were they going to review the current model for providing security at big events? How was it going to address identity fraud by foreigners desperate for a job? How was gender equality being promoted in the industry? They wanted an explanation for the R8.4m overdraft, and why assets had decreased from R115m to R96m. What was the relationship between PSIRA and the Civilian Secretariat of Police (CSP) on the drafting of regulations? Had PSIRA thought of making investments with its surpluses to provide for the future?

Several other issues were also raised. How were dog inspections done? What was the regime around the use of pepper spray and tasers by private security companies? Was PSIRA satisfied with their investigations that were referred to SAPS, and the handling of prosecutions by the NPA? Did PSIRA have a policy that security personnel had to be equipped with protective vests and guns? Was there an industry standard qualification that dogs had to attain? Members asked about how dogs were transported and also about the qualifications of dog handlers. Would PSIRA insist on security companies having dog cages in their vehicles? It was also suggested that the Durban stadium incident had occurred because the security officials had little training and there had been no control. However, a Member argued that any amount of security guards would not have changed the mindset of the spectators. A strategy needed to be developed to change the mindset of the people so that they understood that the stadium belonged to them.

Meeting report

Current security issues

The Chairperson raised three issues which he wanted the Committee needed to discuss and provide input on.

The first was the protests in North West Province. He called on the police to arrest those responsible for the destruction of property.

The second was the incident at the soccer game at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. He expressed his disgust at the action of the spectators, and had noted the comments attributed to the Chairperson of the Premier Soccer League, Dr Irvin Khoza, that there had been inadequate deployment of the South African Police Service (SAPS) at the stadium. He said that the Acting Provincial Commissioner was instituting an investigation into the matter and that the investigation had to be expedited to ensure that any shortcomings were addressed as a matter of urgency. It was important for the Commissioner to appear before the Committee.

The third issue was the arrest of 12 suspected rhino poachers in the Kruger National Park over the past five days, which the Committee welcomed and commended the police on their actions. However, that one of the arrested men was a SAPS member of Skukuza police station. He said that all police stationed at police stations adjacent to the Kruger Park needed to be vetted.

Ms D Kohler Barnard (DA) said families in the North West Province had barricaded themselves in their houses as mobs were attacking and torching places, and she had been assured that troops were deployed. There was a need for SAPS to communicate more with the community. On the incident at Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban, she said it appeared that the responsible SAPS person had been absent from planning meetings. The matter had to be investigated, as the visuals of the incident had gone around the world. On the incident in the Kruger National Park, she said the Commissioner had said that the Kruger Park area had been sorted out, but the poachers were now working from KwaZulu Natal (KZN), so another meeting between the Departments of Justice and Police might be needed.

Mr P Mhlongo (EFF) said only a small group of people had invaded the pitch, which could have been contained. This raised the question of the capacity of private security to do crowd control. On the Kruger Park incident, he said the police human resources (HR) department was failing to impose discipline in the police. On the North West issue, he said the protests were due to people’s appeals to leaders not being listened to.

Mr J Maake (ANC) said he was not sure what Durban stadium management was supposed to do. The security guards did not know what to do to control the crowd, so there was a need to look at what the private sector needed to do. On the poaching incident, he said that one of the poachers had been a retired Frelimo commander, and three people had been shot dead, so this made it a bigger problem. On the North West issue, he said the Committee should not discuss the policies of the North West, but rather what the Committee could do.

Mr Z Mbhele (DA) said the stadium incident spoke to understaffing, lack of resources of the SAPS’ public order policing (POP) units, and inadequate planning. Police officers had been assigned to two to three simultaneous events.

Ms M Molebatsi (ANC) said clubs also needed to provide adequate security. The arrest of a SAPS member in the Kruger Park confirmed that there was collusion involving SAPS members and poachers.

Ms L Mabija (ANC) referred to the KZN incident, and said any amount of security guards would not change the mindset of the spectators. A strategy needed to be developed to change the mindset of the people so that they understood that the stadium belonged to them.

Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA): 2018/19 Annual Performance Plan (APP)

Mr Nhlanhla Ngubane, Acting Chairperson: Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA), said a critical issue for PSIRA in 2018/19 was a review of the funding model, especially the Guarantee Fund. Chapter 2 of the PSIRA Act said PSIRA had to establish a Guarantee Fund, and the stadium incident brought into focus its establishment. PSIRA had postponed the matter for too long and the issue of the Guarantee Fund would be moved forward this coming year. It was seeking the Committee’s support in this endeavour.

PSIRA had embarked on an organisational review and had contracted a service provider to assist them do a proper systematic evaluation. On the issue of a review of the standards and training, Chapter 2 also contained clauses relating to the function of PSIRA regarding the training of service providers to assure a high quality of training, and on issues of accreditation and monitoring and assessment of training. PSIRA wanted to focus on the quality of training of security personnel with the Safety and Security Sector Education and Training Authority (SASSETA) this year, as it needed to be managed.

On the capacitation of PSIRA’s law enforcement programme, PSIRA wanted to reduce the inspector to security business ratio of 1: 120. The ratio to individual security guards was currently 1: 6 800. This was unacceptable in terms of monitoring, but improving this depended on resources and funding models.

He said that they were working hard to get experts and professionals to chair the industry sector committees. Transformation was a priority, although its implementation had been suspended due to a lack of funds in the current financial year. PSIRA wanted to raise the understanding of PSIRA’s role and PSIRA brand recognition in the public domain.

Mr Manabela Chauke, Chief Executive Officer (CEO): PSIRA, said the entity had changed the number of its goals from four to three, and Goal 4 of the previous year was now incorporated in Goal 1.

Ms Mmatlou Sebogodi, Deputy Director: Finance and Administration, PSIRA, spoke to Program 1: Finance and Administration. New key performance indicators (KPIs) were the establishment and implementation of the Guarantee Fund; the implementation of a business continuity and disaster recovery plan; the percentage of employee training interventions implemented as part of an annual training plan; and the establishment of an internal training academy.

Mr Chauke then spoke to Program 2: Law Enforcement. New KPIs were the number of draft regulations compiled on approved research topics; the percentage of debt collection files referred for litigation; and the number of security businesses inspected that used dogs. In Program 3: Communications, Registration and Training, the new KPIs were the number of policy documents completed and the number of research studies completed;

Ms Sebogodi referred to the medium-term budget, and said the budget had grown at an average of 7.5%. Future estimates and plans indicated a higher growth in expenditure compared to revenue under the existing funding model. Expenditure had increased by an average of 13% over the past four years, with personnel costs comprising 59% of total expenditure, and rental expenses 11%. Employee costs had increased by 21% due to cost of living salary increases, and provision for an additional 15 employees to be recruited in the 2018/19 financial year. Property rentals had increased by 35% through the opening of new offices in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Polokwane, Nelspruit and Empangeni to improve PSIRA’s geographical footprint and to ensure efficient, accessible quality service. Advertising had increased by 72% due to the branding of new offices and media campaigns to ensure the awareness of the PSIRA brand. PSIRA had instituted a number of cost containment measures.

Discussion

The Chairperson asked if PSIRA had met with the new Minister to intervene with the Office of the Presidency over the processing of the Amendment Act, because the process had been ongoing for four years. He asked what was being done by PSIRA regarding the flurry of cash in transit heists, because it was PSIRA members who were being injured or killed. Were they going to review the current model for big events?

Ms Molebatsi asked for information on the three research topics and about the proposed internal training academy. How was PSIRA going to address identity fraud by foreigners desperate for a job? Whose dogs were being referenced – those of SAPS or private security dogs?

Ms M Mmola (ANC) asked what the primary areas identified in the annual training plan had been when the internal training academy was established. How was gender equality being promoted in the industry? Why were travel and internal audits being outsourced?

Ms Mabija asked about the organisational review and redesign consultants. She said she was allergic to consultants, because they did not precisely know an organisation’s issues and used generic methods.

Ms Kohler Barnard asked why there was a 49% increase in staff costs. She wanted an explanation for the R8.4m overdraft, and why assets had decreased from R115m to R96m. What were the provisional costs making allowance for? What was the relationship between PSIRA and the Civilian Secretariat of Police (CSP) on the drafting of regulations? What were the 140 awareness campaigns that PSIRA had done?

Mr Mhlongo asked if PSIRA had thought of making investments with its surpluses to provide for the future. What had informed the decrease in the training allocation?

Mr Maake asked how dog inspections were done.

Mr Mbhele asked what the reasons or factors were for the opening of an office in Empangeni, as it appeared tangential. What was the regime around the use of pepper spray and tasers by private security companies? Was PSIRA satisfied with their investigations that were referred to SAPS and the handling of prosecutions by the NPA?

PSIRA’s response

Mr Ngubane said PSIRA had met with all three recent Police Ministers, and had raised the issue with them all.

He said the use of consultants was a two-edged sword, especially with organisational development. Human dynamics always complicated organisational reviews if they were done internally and PSIRA in any case did not have the capacity to do an organisational review. Proper advertising and processes had been followed to get a service provider contracted.

The research had been done because there was not much documented on private security in the country. PSIRA was engaging with universities and with the National Research Foundation (NRF) to establish a research chair on private security, as it was a big space around the world.

The Chairperson referred to the issue of consultants, and said that given what had happened recently in the SAPS procurement environment, he wanted an assurance that supply chain management (SCM) processes had been followed, and that the contract had been given to a provider that had the necessary industry grading. He also wanted an assurance that there were no third-party relationships involving current or former PSIRA members or Board members.

Mr Chauke said PSIRA was not fully doing what its mandate required -- for example, on the establishment of a Guarantee Fund -- and more needed to be done on regulations. PSIRA was doing research into the various sectors of the industry. It was therefore doing an organisational design because over the years it had been running on a skeleton staff. There were two million security officers and 27 000 companies, yet it had only 60 inspectors. PSIRA would need to acquire certain skill sets to establish and run the Guarantee Fund, and had therefore started management training in partnership with the University of South Africa (UNISA).

He said the bid for the contract was competitive, and there were no family members related to the company. The Board was not involved in the tender, but it needed to approve all budget items above R1m.

He said PSIRA had met the Minister and the CSP on the need to have movement on the Amendment Act. The institutions involved were the National Conventional Arms Control Committee, the SA Bureau of Standards (SABS), the SA Reserve Bank, and the Transport Bargaining Council. PSIRA dealt with the training, accreditation and registration of security officials. It also dealt partly with the standards of the vehicles used. Part of the Amendment Act was that PSIRA wanted to be involved with standards. Currently standards were not controlled.

PSIRA was not happy with the number of security people killed in transit heists while on duty. Research had been done on the cash in transit sector and PSIRA would be publishing it, together with a draft policy, and wanted to use it to see what areas needed to be improved.

On regulations, PSIRA was looking at sectors, a few of which had been researched. The aim was that the research would inform the regulations. There had been a greater focus on labour than in the past.

Ms Mabija asked if PSIRA had a policy that security personnel had to be equipped with protective vests and guns.

Mr Chauke said PSIRA had met with the authorities and the head of the Hawks on cash in transit heists and the Hawks had done some work, but PSIRA was concerned, as there had been specific complaints and there was no planning in some of the movements of money.

The areas of research had been reduced to three topics from four. One was labour broking, which was a major problem, and where most of the non-compliance lay. PSIRA was trying to cap this through understanding the activity and changing the regulations. It was also looking at the car guard industry, because of the non-regulation of this industry. The third topic was the manufacturing of security equipment. PSIRA was consulting stakeholders on draft regulations on the use of certain equipment. Its mandate did not include firearms.

The training academy would be training inspectors before they got deployed. Currently, most of the inspectors were drawn from SAPS and the defence force.

PSIRA had partnered with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to deal with identity fraud. Identity fraud was an issue, and there were long queues at PSIRA offices to verify identities. The DHA was assisting in identifying who were citizens. Legitimate people were applying for a certificate, but were then selling these certificates and identity documents (IDs) for R4 000 to people wanting to enter the industry

Mr Mbhele asked if a private security officer could be licensed without being linked to a company.

Mr Chauke said it was possible, but PSIRA was trying to discourage it. PSIRA wanted to develop a link with the DHA so that it could be linked to scanners and in this way catch many people.

On the accreditation of dogs and how companies using dogs transported and trained them, he said a unit had been established within the PSIRA.

Mr Maake asked if there was an industry standard qualification that dogs had to attain.

Ms Molebatsi asked about how dogs were transported, and also about the qualifications of dog handlers.

Mr Chauke said there were standards for dogs and dog handlers, and PSIRA wanted to beef up the regulations. Handlers were trained through levels one to five, and vehicles had to be equipped with special cages.

Ms Kohler Barnard said that in Durban, the Metro’s dogs had been treated as if they were office equipment by administrators, and ordered to be put down. The regulations had to be careful not to be so focused on regulations that they did not include the element of humanity.

Ms Molebatsi asked if PSIRA was going to insist on security companies having dog cages in their vehicles.

Mr Chauke said they were receiving complaints, but there could be no exceptions -- it had to be as specified in the law.

On the review of events management, he said the Safety and Security Recreational Events Act made provision for the establishment of an events safety and security committee. PSIRA was not part of this committee, but the details of the security service providers had to be sent to it. PSIRA was investigating the stadium incident. He added that the officer assaulted was a female and not a male, as alleged in the media.

Ms Kohler Barnard spoke about the chaotic media reporting on the gender of the injured officer.

On gender issues, Mr Chauke said 30% of security officials were female, and there had been a shift in the use of females in the industry.

Ms Sebogodi said the reason the internal audit was being outsourced was that PSIRA had checked to see if it had the capacity to do the job internally. It had appointed an internal auditor for a period of three years, and was hoping to build an internal audit capacity by this time. It also wanted to outsource the travel management service, as it was not ready to do so internally.

The 21% increase in the personnel budget was because the core personnel had been capacitated through the filling of 15 positions, as well as interns.

The budget for program 3 had decreased because PSIRA had spent R8m while doing the transformation project, but it was now back to the normal trend.

The overdraft was a non-cash item and was prescribed by the Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP) for the depreciation of assets over time, so one had to provide for debtor payments and employee benefits. The budget was a projected figure when doing costing, so this was a predicted, not an actual, overdraft. PSIRA was planning to intensify collections and revenue to avoid going into overdraft.

Mr Chauke said PSIRA was building a reserve, but it did not have adequate reserves to invest currently.

Mr Maake asked if PSIRA gave Treasury any funds.

Mr Chauke said PSIRA was not receiving or taking from Treasury, but it did need to ask Treasury if it could retain funds. The present funding model had come to end, and PSIRA was now posting deficits and needed to have a new look at its funding model.

Ms Kohler Barnard asked if surpluses were given to Treasury.

Mr Chauke said the answer was no, because it received nothing from Treasury.

PSIRA had a good relationship with SAPS, but not a good relationship with the NPA. It had met with the head of the NPA, especially over prosecutors and how they looked at evidence. PSIRA did investigations and then handed them over to the police, but offenders were walking away with fines for serious offences which could have landed them with two-year jail sentences. In addition, PSIRA wanted to activate spot fines to fast track compliance.

On the training of security officers for events, he said PSIRA had published regulations for events in 1998. It had done research on events management, and this would inform what would be developed by PSIRA. For the curriculum, there were various modules that had to be completed. Currently there was no accredited training dealing with crowd management. There was training but only the police could do it. Training for the industry was being looked at.

The Chairperson asked if specific graded officials had to be deployed at any public event.

Mr Chauke said training currently was generalised and not specific. He added that service providers had made many improvements since the regulations had been published.

Ms Kohler Barnard said it was clear that the security officials at the Moses Mabhida stadium event had zero training, because there had been no control. She asked whether PSIRA had the right to issue qualifications if it was looking at doing in-house training.

Ms Molebatsi said the use of alcohol at stadiums was a huge problem. Were they considering what was contained in squeeze bottles?

Mr Mhlongo asked if PSIRA, as a body, got involved in events.

Mr Chauke said PSIRA had limited involvement. He could not cast aspersions on the involvement of security officers, but at the centre of the incident was the safety and security plan which ought to have been approved. PSIRA was awaiting the investigative report.

PSIRA did not participate in searches at stadiums. It was present at most big games and dealt actively with Stadium Management South Africa for big games. On the extent of PSIRA’s involvement, the Act said the planning committee must send details of the service provider to PSIRA. However, PSIRA went further and engaged with bodies like the SA Football Association (SAFA) to make them aware of its requirements. Sometimes games were attended to see if there was compliance or not. PSIRA was not involved in the planning, as the authority was vested with the municipalities.

Mr Ngubane said the issue relating to the loss of life warranted the attention of everyone involved. This was not the first time, as there had been other events such as at Orkney and Ellis Park, and the time had come to ask whether the mechanisms in place were sufficient or not. At times, PSIRA got bogged down by policies. It was a concern when Mr Irvin Khoza and the Minister of Sport contradicted each other over the South African Special Risks Insurance Association (SASRIA) Act. He said people thought that PSIRA employed the security people at the stadium.

The Chairperson said this was a wake-up call, and best practices should be reviewed.

Mr Chauke said an office had been established in Empangeni because it had busy offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban. The Durban office was one of the busiest, and dealt with the whole of KZN so Empangeni or Richards Bay had been identified, and PSIRA had been trying to get an office there for two and a half years. The previous day, there had been protests at the Durban offices over long queues. Bloemfontein was in a similar situation. PSIRA had said it would open an office there two years ago because of procurement processes, but an office would be opened in the following week.

On working with the CSP on developing regulations, he said that in the past the relationship was not that close, but currently PSIRA was working closely with them.

The code of conduct provided that security officials be provided with adequate gear. In the stadium incident, PSIRA assumed there had been adequate risk assessment and therefore the necessary gear associated with that risk. Firearms in that space were not allowed, except by the police.

The meeting was adjourned.

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