By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Police top brass confirmed they were investigating a security breach that occurred when a fire gutted the parliamentary precinct on January 2.
SAPS officials, including Police Minister Bheki Cele, appeared before the Joint Standing Committee on Financial Management on Friday to brief the committee of the police’s role in providing security on the parliamentary precinct.
SAPS’ Protection and Security Services (PSS) divisional commissioner, Samson Shitlabane explained to the committee that the police is responsible for security and protection outside of Parliament.
“Since 2004, the PSS Security Advisory Services [SAS] conducted five security assessments, with recommendations and audits, at Parliament.
“The security assessments and audit reports were submitted to the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure for intervention,”Shitlabane said.
Shitlabane said that security and protection at Parliament has never improved despite concerns being raised since 2013.
Shitlabane said then Saps national commissioner Riah Phiyega had written to the director-general of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure at the time “highlighting critical security concerns at Parliament”.
He indicated that there was a Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS) joint meeting – which took place in 2016 – to discuss the implementation of the security upgrades at Parliament.
Another meeting, held in 2018, was convened to discuss the progress made on the security upgrades.
“There was a briefing [before] the portfolio committee on police and public works on the upgrade in terms of what needs to be done in Parliament,” Shitlabane said.
Shitlabane told the committee that Parliament’s secretary and the then divisional commissioner undertook a trip to Hungary in 2016 to benchmark Parliament’s security with international standards.
He also said that since the declaration of the parliamentary complex as a national key point in 2018, a joint planning committee (JPC), which would overlook the security and protection at Parliament, still needed to be established.
“In terms of all the national key points that have been declared then they would have a JPC structure, which the current Parliament does not have,” he added.
The pending security improvements include the upgrading of Parliament’s perimeter fence height from 1.3 metres to 3 metres, which prescribed by minimum physical security standards.
Shitlabane added that PSS’ Security Advisory Services (SAS) division has conducted five security assessments, with recommendations and audits, at Parliament since 2002.
These security assessments and audit reports, the Saps’ division boss highlighted, were submitted to the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure for intervention.
National deputy commissioner for policing, Lieutenant General Sehlahle Masemola told the committee that an investigation has been instituted against four police officers who were on duty when the fire broke out at Parliament.
Masemola said the officers have have been issued with a notice of suspension for failing to detect the security breach in Parliament.
The officers, who were on duty from 31 December, include a PSS relief commander and three CCTV monitoring room operators.
“They are busy with their representations, and that will be considered,” he said.
Shitlabane pointed out that the officers could only monitor movements from a small screen instead of the video wall that is usually used.
The video wall, the Saps’ division boss said, was malfunctioning as a result power outage that occurred on 21 December last year across the City of Cape Town.
Shitlabane said the absence of members of the Parliament Protection Services (PPS) meant there was no one available to monitor movements inside the building.
An official report on the fire will be released soon, according to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, as the Hawks continue to investigate.