South African taxpayers pay R360 million for blue-light brigade overtime

Since 2022, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has paid VIP protection officers R360 million in overtime.

This was revealed in Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s response to a Parliamentary question from Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana.

Gana asked the minister the total amount of overtime SAPS paid to VIP protection officers for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years.

He also asked which ministers and ministries have had officers claiming the most overtime.

In his response, the minister said that SAPS had paid these officers R198.05 million in 2022/23 and R161.89 million in 2023/24 in overtime.

The minister further said that all Close Protection Officers claim the same number of hours of overtime per month, which is 100 hours. He said this is “due to the extra-ordinary working hours”.

In a recent press release, Rise Mzansi said that, with more VIPs in the form of Ministers and Deputy Ministers, the SAPS VIP Protection Unit overtime bill will undoubtedly increase sharply during the current term of office.

“RISE is therefore requesting that the Police Minister work with his Public Service and Administration and Treasury colleagues to find a remuneration model that does not revolve around overtime,” the party said.

“The primary role of the state and the SAPS is to keep the people of South Africa safe. Therefore, resources should be used to achieve this, but seemingly, keeping politicians safe is prioritised at the expense of keeping the people safe.”

This is not the first time that the high cost of VIP protection in South Africa has come under fire.

In 2023, members of Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s VIP protection team were caught on camera assaulting motorists and passengers on the N1 highway in Johannesburg. The officers are currently undergoing trial for this incident.

The video of the incident went viral on social media and sparked a nationwide debate over the country’s so-called “blue light brigades” and the extent of their powers.

Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) CEO Wayne Duvenage revealed at the time that R3.4 billion was spent on VIP protection for politicians in the 2023 financial year – a figure that far outweighs the R2.25 billion allocated to the Hawks.

“What gives them the right to put those blue lights on and behave as if everybody must move out of their way?” Duvenage asked. “We’ve got to start asking ourselves what we are spending this money on.”

“An audit needs to be done and very stringent scrutiny of what is that R3 billion being spent on for VIP protection. Why are we spending so much in comparison to what we spend on the Hawks?” 

Sygnia co-founder and CEO Magda Wierzycka also previously questioned the amount South Africa spends on VIP protection for politicians.

She said South Africa spends around R2 billion per annum to protect 280 government officials – money that could be used to protect whistleblowers.

Wierzycka told The Money Show that spending this money to protect government officials is “absurd” and “highly questionable”.

“If you just cut the budget in half, you would have about R1 billion to protect people who are trying – in their own, individual capacity – to protect South Africa.”

However, these complaints have fallen on deaf ears as politicians continue to spend millions on VIP protection, often to the detriment of their constituents.

In April this year, the ANC-EFF coalition that was in power in Joburg, together with minor parties, decided to spend R3 million a month on VIP protection.

The politicians also received 40 cars from the Joburg Metropolitan Police Department’s fleet, Daily Maverick reported.

“It has also come to light that the City of Johannesburg is spending more on VIP bodyguards than any other city in South Africa,” the publication reported.

“Additionally, the ever-increasing number of police officers being assigned to VIP services is having a negative impact on visible policing and crime-fighting in Joburg and across the country.”