It costs the taxpayer R1.1 million to train one Special Task Force member, but the private sector is cashing in by swooping up these highly skilled members to fulfil duties as VIP protectors and bodyguards.
JOHANNESBURG - The private security industry continues to benefit from millions of taxpayer funds to train members of the South African Police Services’ most elite policing units - who are opting to leave with crucial skills due to inadequate pay.
Both STF and NIU members sit at the highest echelons when it comes to high-calibre weapons, tactical, hostage negotiation, and counter assault training. Besides private security firms, STF and NIU members are being recruited as bodyguards for taxi bosses, cigarette barons, and people allegedly involved in the controversial “construction mafia.”KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi previously told the media he believes there is a hidden agenda at play.
“Government can’t compete with private companies in terms of how well they pay salaries. The amount you earn in government is what the government can afford to pay, and is in line with the unions. The private companies are willing to pay far more to their employees. That’s why it’s so easy to convince police officers to leave the public sector for the private sector.”
“We saw a lot of members leaving towards the end of 2021 - in just one month that year we had about 11 members leave. Thereafter, members were leaving in dribs and drabs, four one month, two another - but almost every month people are leaving. The issue of members leaving the NIU only started recently, but STF members have been leaving for years now.
"Speak to any old-school member of STF or NIU and they will tell you that the job is not about the money, it’s about the passion and knowing the value of the badge you earned. Knowing that you went through all that physical, mental, and verbal abuse to come out as one of the most elite in SA.”
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