The local police and military forces are ready to secure soccer stadiums 50 days ahead of the kick-off of the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup.
The South African Police Services (SAPS) conducted a simulated crowd control exercise at Ellis Park Coca-Cola Stadium last week, to test how prepared it would be in the event of uncontrolled protest rallies and football hooligans.
National police commissioner general, Bheki Cele, met with French lieutenant general Herve Niel to assist the SAPS in crowd control management training. The French military taught the SAPS techniques used to deal with possible violent situations in order to protect spectators at the stadiums.
Cele said the SAPS is also working closely with Interpol as well as the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO) to ensure better border control management and to prevent people from entering the country illegally.
Over budget
According to Cele, R665 million in equipment has been allocated to the police to safeguard the Fifa World Cup. He said the equipment and police resources will be expanded to operate beyond the tournament to improve crime fighting.
Cele told media this was R5 million over budget. The South African government has given a total of R1.35 billion to the SAPS and military to make sure the soccer tournament runs securely and successfully.
SAPS communications officer, Vishnu Naidoo, says that from the R1.35 billion total allocated budget, R665 million has been used to procure equipment such as armoured vehicles, helicopters, CCTV cameras, sniper rifles and water cannons. Naidoo adds that the balance of R640 million will be used for the deployment of 44 000 police officers (34 000 permanent officers and 10 000 reservists).
According to the Fifa Local Organising Committee, it has been estimated the World Cup will create 129 000 jobs, contribute R21 billion to SA's gross domestic product, and around 350 000 visitors are expected to spend R9.8 billion in the country during the tournament.
Cele pointed out that SA's 2010 security plan was well received by the security experts from 31 participating countries at the Fifa headquarters in Zurich, and by 188 Interpol member countries during a meeting in France.
He says: “We are ready to host the World Cup, not today, not tomorrow, but yesterday - that's how confident we are about our security preparations. We have done justice to the mandate of improving our technology, accumulating our resources and most importantly, investing on skills and development of our members.”
Military gears up
A demonstration was conducted during a media tour revealing that specialised tactical response teams have been deployed to deal with high-risk situations, as well as a national intervention unit and special task force, which have been assigned to deal with potential terrorist attacks.
Cele revealed that the National Joint Operational Centre and Provincial Joint Operation Centre for the Fifa World Cup would be activated on 15 May. The full deployment of police offices from SARPCCO member countries is expected on 24 May.
“A principle agreement has been reached to further intensify training and skills development as an additional contingency measure in our overall operational plan for the Fifa World Cup tournament,” noted Cele.
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