Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT                     

SUMMARY

Violent crime is a major problem, and a serious concern for business. South Africa heads many international cross-country comparisons of crime, such as the number of murders per capita. Much of the crime is gratuitous: victims are often shot during a simple robbery, with no apparent motive. Car-jacking is also a major concern both in urban areas and when driving between cities. The security industry in South Africa is well-developed, and many foreign firms employ sophisticated monitoring and alarm systems. Aside from crime, there are few other major security risks in the country. South Africa is not engaged in armed conflict with any of its neighbours, and has no active secessionist movements.

ANALYSIS

* Executives fall victim to violent crime (High risk).

The crime rate in South Africa has risen to very high levels in recent years, and violent acts are routinely carried out against both expatriates and local residents. The crime problem is exacerbated by poverty levels which run along racial lines. Although the government has stepped up its efforts to improve the country's security environment, which also includes international assistance, progress to date has been slow. Many in the police are inexperienced, poorly trained and corrupt; the institution itself cannot be relied upon to enforce the law adequately and to protect the public. As a result, expatriates are strongly advised to take the necessary security precautions at home and at work. For instance, the use of electric fences and gates, high walls, and installation of security alarms, which are directly connected to private security companies with their own rapid response teams, are some of the measures available to both expatriates and local residents. Other measures for residential properties includes security gates that separate sleeping and living areas; burglars are thereby restricted to areas of a house with obvious material possessions to steal, limiting the chance of a violent encounter with residents. Some expatriates may wish to rent houses in a guarded compound. Businesses should consider using video surveillance systems to identify criminals.

* Executives are subject to crime while using the country's motorways (High risk).

Car-jackings in South Africa are common and doors should be locked at all times when driving. The motorways are favoured targets: drivers, especially in remote areas, should never stop at accidents, which are often staged to carry out robberies. Companies should advise staff of "no- go" areas in major towns. It is advisable not to stop at red lights at certain notorious road junctions late at night (consult with a local security agency for locations). Businesses and individuals may also wish to install remote tracking devices in cars. Companies should implement appropriate training programmes for their staff on how best to react in a robbery or a car hijacking, and on how to avoid confrontation and violence.

BACKGROUND

Armed Conflict

There is currently little prospect of an external threat to South Africa's security, and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is having to adjust to a world in which South Africa is no longer seen as an enemy or an outcast. The challenge for the SANDF in recent years has been to integrate the former liberation movements while reducing its own manpower. As there is no foreign threat to the country, the future role of the SANDF is likely to be restricted to regional peace-keeping and emergency relief operations.

Violent Crime

Economic and social tensions continue to produce a worryingly high level of criminal violence in South Africa, in urban Gauteng particularly, but also in the Western Cape. Crime in Gauteng has adversely affected businesses, which have steadily moved away from Johannesburg's central business district into well-to-do suburbs such as Sandton. Organised business funds a body called Business Against Crime, which monitors and assists in combating crime at the local level. High levels of crime are one of the main obstacles to economic growth; however, studies of foreign investors' attitudes to crime levels present a mixed picture.

Crime in the Western Cape has been mainly in the poorer Cape Flats region, which has been plagued by organised and armed gangs. A study by the World Health Organisation in 1995 showed that South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, although recently this has dropped. The yearbook of the South African Institute of Race Relations, published in March 2001, showed that there were fewer murders in 1999 than in 1994. However, the 23,823 homicides in 1999 represented a murder rate of 55.3 per 100,000 of the population, one of the highest in the world. Murder rates are extremely high in urban areas, especially in the Western Cape, where vigilantism is a major problem. Some 137 people were killed in vigilante killings between January 1999 and March 2000, the latest period for which statistics are available. Rates of rape, robbery, hijacking and burglary are also extremely high, although kidnapping and extortion are rare.

The rate of politically motivated murder has fallen from its 1993 peak. Part of South Africa's susceptibility to violence stems from the historical legacy of apartheid, and the violent society that this created, as well as the high level of gun ownership. It also reflects the fact that crimes can be committed with a degree of impunity, as the chances of being caught are low. In addition, South Africa has one of the most unequal distributions of income in the world. The economy ranges from the affluence and sophistication of gleaming shopping centres to levels of poverty associated with developing countries: 57% of the population lived in poverty in 1996, and official statistics show that 36.2% of the working-age population is either unemployed or not actively seeking work.

Such inequality is an important factor driving crime in the new South Africa, as are the rapid influx of people into urban areas since the early 1990s (including from neighbouring countries), high levels of unemployment and the difficult transformation of the police services and the criminal justice system. The challenges facing the 130,000-strong South African Police Service are formidable, and it is not uncommon for businesses and residents in more affluent suburbs to employ armed private security firms.

Security has also become a contentious political issue: in mid-2001 African National Congress MPs proposed that foreign investment in the sector should be banned and existing foreign investors forced to sell their R3bn stake in the industry within five years. This proposal would have affected ADT Fire and Security, a subsidiary of a US conglomerate Tyco International, and the British firms Chubb and Securicor, which are together estimated to have invested more than US$170m in the industry in the previous year. However, the draft security bill, introduced in October, allows foreign shareholdings in the country's security industry, though company directors should be South African citizens or permanent residents.

Civil Unrest

Political violence has sharply decreased. Most of the political violence of recent years has been in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, where conflict between the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party has claimed the lives of 14,000-20,000 people since 1984. There are still sporadic outbursts of political violence in KwaZulu-Natal, but they are quickly controlled.

Organised Crime

The opening up of South Africa to the global economy has caused an increase in the activities of both domestic and international crime syndicates. Even though elite special forces (the Scorpions) have been created and have operated successfully in areas such as the Western Cape, these underlying tensions and constraints remain difficult to resolve and crime is unlikely to fall dramatically. There was a spate of bombings in Cape Town in 1999-2000, attributed to People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD). This vigilante group was formed in response to the ineffectual policing of crime in the Cape Flats by the official authorities. However, PAGAD itself became involved in criminal activities and acts of criminal violence. The arrest of most of the leaders of the group put an end to its activities.

Terrorism

In the Western Cape there are a number of militant Islamic groups, including Qibla and an affiliate of PAGAD Muslims against Illegitimate Leaders, some of which are reported to have links with the Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. The province remained calm in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11th 2001. However, it is possible that US-linked organisations and businesses in the Western Cape may become terrorist targets--PAGAD is widely suspected of bombing two US- linked restaurants in Cape Town in 2000. The latter two incidents are the only known examples of specific attacks on businesses with foreign links.

Demonstrations

Civil society protests, including demonstrations by labour (for example, the national strike against privatisation in August 2001) are in the main well organised and peaceful. At worst, there are just a few skirmishes.