Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

WITH just over two years to go before the 2010 Fifa World Cup kicks off, the South African Police Service (SAPS) is on track with its planning to provide security for the event and has a R1 billion budget for this.

Deputy Police Commissioner Andre Pruis said security forces would provide Fifa with a security concept plan for the World Cup by June 30 and a detailed security plan by June 2009.

“About 90% of the planning is completed. We are working on the broad framework and tactical details,” he said.

The plan for 2010 safety covers security (issues such as terrorist threats), law enforcement, event-specific plans, local, regional and national plans, stadium plans and VIP protection – with elements “ranging from the international community to the soccer pitch”.

The intelligence community is also working on a plan for 2010, looking at hooliganism, terrorism, transport and labour issues, with a threat analysis for the event.

Pruis said police had asked for a list of undesirable people and were seeking bilateral agreements to prevent them from being allowed to leave their countries – a measure implemented for other world cup events.

Border security will also be tackled, with the focus on fixed points of entry, airports, harbour and land borders used by visitors.

Police will obtain satellite images of the border to check for illegal crossings, while ports and harbours will be patrolled.

Contingency plans and non-terror threats such as fire and flooding were also being taken into account.

Transport security formed a key part of the security plan, with 66 BMWs bought for patrols on major transport hubs and helicopters to be deployed.

Each city would be divided into sectors with different police teams to patrol streets, restaurants and pubs. These teams would interact with private security services to ensure a “blanket of security”, said Pruis.

To ensure stadium safety, precincts would be divided into concentric rings with different security and Fifa zones.

The 2010 Fifa World Cup Organising Committee (OC) is primarily responsible for security within the stadium, but the SAPS will be available to deal with illegal activity and crowd control.

“Exercises such as Operation Green Point are a good statement of the state of readiness of our country to deal with potentially major security incidents. The collaboration between the country’s various security arms in particular was very good and shows they can respond in a professional and efficient manner.

“Our security concept document for the FIFA Confederations Cup is at an advanced stage and is informed by the concept document for the 2010 World Cup. Our planning is at an advanced stage,” said the OC’s Chief Officer for Safety and Security, Commissioner Linda Mti.

During the World Cup, most police will be deployed outside the stadium precinct, with more than 700 on patrol to deal with potential hooliganism and crowd control during games.

The SAPS budget of R1 billion for the 2010 Fifa World Cup has been split between procurement and deployment. Items to be bought include water cannons, command vehicles, aircraft with cameras (to be deployed on the border afterwards) and body armour.

The deployment aspect deals with having 41 000 members on duty for the duration of the World Cup, and having a command and control system up and running.

Joint operational exercises, such as Operation Green Point, will also be carried out ahead of 2010.

“We can do it – I’ve been to Germany and other places that staged major events to look at how they did it and their track records. From where we are, in terms of our planning, we will have a very successful 2010 World Cup,” Pruis said.A simulated security exercise unfolds in Cape TownAndré PruisWHAT was Operation Green Point? Held between March 13 and 19, it was a joint exercise by the South African Police Service (SAPS), South African National Defence Force (SANDF), 2010 Fifa World Cup Organising Committee, South Africa’s security directorate and other government agencies such as the Civil Aviation Authority and Air Traffic and Navigation Services.

The exercise was designed to sharpen the skills of the security forces in working together to neutralise any form of aerial threat, given the security importance of the airspace above the Green Point stadium during the Fifa World Cup.

An area of 50 nautical miles (just under 100km) around Cape Town International Airport was identified, and during the exercise any perceived threat in the air (apart from normal aviation traffic) was identified, intercepted and interrogated if necessary.

“We proclaimed a temporary restricted airspace, then managed that airspace. The more we can do and interact now, the better it will be in 2010,” said Brigadier-General Anton Kriegler. “It’s a learning curve for all of us, and we need to train a lot of people.”

The exercise was designed to test the country’s safety procedures, by flying combat air patrols. Two teams participated, with one team having no contact with the other and therefore no idea of what the other was doing.

“We played all the different scenarios – from Greenpeace activists to hijackers and terrorists, to fully run through each of these.”

The highlight of the exercise was the simulated hijacking of a plane and hostage-taking of its passengers, and its intrusion into restricted air space.

On the weekend of March 15-16, Operation Green Point included vetting flight plans. A total of 651 flights were vetted, of which 247 were normal scheduled flights.

And while 650 of the flights had clearance to be where they were, one aircraft went off its flight path and was not responding to the control tower – and heading directly for the Green Point Stadium.

Air Force Cheetah pilots intercepted the aircraft and forced it to land at Ysterplaat Air Force Base, where it was escorted to a safe holding area and SAPS hostage negotiators persuaded the “hijackers” to surrender to the Special Task Force.

A smaller exercise was carried out in Polokwane last year, and there will be more exercises in Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein in July and Nelspruit in November, as well as in Gauteng.

“We are doing this so that we can be professional and safe, and have a secure area around Green Point Stadium in 2010,” Kriegler said.

“Operation Green Point was an essential exercise to allow our security forces to merge their expertise to ensure that every South African can be proud of their country and their security forces during any major event, but especially during the 2010 Fifa World Cup,” said police spokeswoman, Director Sally de Beer.