VIPs: What Are They Afraid Of?
Photo: Pixabay
By Mike Pothier – The assault by the deputy-president’s blue-light heavies on private motorists raises important questions
The recent incident in Johannesburg, in which Deputy-President Paul Mashatile’s police security detail viciously and unlawfully assaulted two motorists, has deservedly received a great deal of coverage. It has been pointed out that this was not an isolated incident – blue-light convoys are notorious for disregarding the rights of other road users, and have long acted with a sense of impunity.
It has also been reported that the amount spent on the Presidential Protection Service, to give the unit its proper name, is greater than that spent on the Hawks, which is responsible for all priority crime investigation; and, a few years ago, was equal to the government’s entire budget for land reform!
Other comment has focused on the fact that, judging by similar incidents in the past, the perpetrators are unlikely to suffer any serious consequences. There seems to be an assumption on the part of many in this ‘service’ that because they are associated with VIPs they are above the law, and little or nothing has been done by their superiors to correct this notion.
All these are valid points, but one which is not being probed as much as it should be is: What is the need for this service in the first place? What are the so-called VIPs afraid of?
Obviously, the President, the Deputy-President, Cabinet Ministers and a few other high-ranking figures need to be driven around and to have some kind of close protection as they go about their duties. Even though in some European countries it is not particularly unusual to see a minister riding a bicycle to parliament, unaccompanied by any security, it would be extreme to expect the same to apply here.
But we take it to unnecessary lengths. The presidential convoy sometimes includes eleven vehicles, just for a journey of ten minutes from Rondebosch to Tuynhuis, next to Parliament. There is no discernible threat to the President’s person in South Africa. We have no armed insurgency, no terrorist-type activity, and no history of violence against senior politicians in the democratic era. Indeed, privately, some cabinet ministers have been known to dispense entirely with their protection squads and drive themselves to social functions when ‘off duty’.
If, then, there is no real security justification for this over-the-top level of police protection, there must be another, more psychological, reason. The human rights activist Mark Heywood suggests part of the answer: “At best, the VIP protection we taxpayers pay for is an expensive vanity project to massage the egos and smooth the passage of people who are meant to be public servants.”
But it is also part of the effort, maybe unconsciously, to insulate and isolate the ‘big men’ (and occasionally women) from the daily realities of the people they supposedly serve. This is why the president and some ministers have more than once declared themselves ‘shocked’ when encountering dysfunctional trains or broken sewerage systems.
Being surrounded by ‘heavies’ who maintain a physical barrier between them and the public reinforces this insulation, and entrenches the gap between the rulers and the ruled. It also inverts the relationship between the servants and the served.
The actions of this particular squad of protection officers were unlawful and criminal. But at another level, the very existence of such squads, far too costly and far too many in number, and made up of heavily armed, often badly trained and poorly disciplined individuals, is profoundly anti-democratic.
It is probably too much to hope for, but if this latest incident prompts a rethink about this kind of official thuggery, it will have served a useful purpose.
Mike Pothier is the Programme Manager of the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office. See more commentaries, backgrounders, video interviews and more at cplo.org.za
- Smartphones Swapped for Dumbphones at Holy Rosary School! - October 9, 2024
- Neocatechumenal Way Pilgrimage to Bl Benedict Daswa Shrine - October 9, 2024
- Who May Conduct a Communion Service? - October 8, 2024
