The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure comprising of the South African Police Service, the South African National Defence Force and various other government departments has been officially deployed in Mangaung (Bloemfontein) today to take charge of the security needs during the ANC Centenary Celebration.
In a bid to ensure that the deployment is done according to plan, the Acting National Commissioner of Police, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkwanazi has visited all the strategic sites and is satisfied with the deployments there.
This operation will run in three phases, the pre-celebration phase, the celebration phase and the post celebration phase. In view of the anticipated attendance of several Heads of State and other important persons, attendees have been categorised as VVIP's and VIP's. The attendance of tens of thousands of people converging at the city of Mangaung has also been taken into consideration.
Henceforth, the officers that have been deployed will take care of VVIP and VIP protection, crowd management and visible policing. There is a high visibility of police officers in uniform patrolling the streets within and around the Mangaug area. Our security plans were prepared and are being executed in consultation with the African National Congress ions in order to ensure that security planning is such that we can pro-actively deal with any possible eventuality, land or air.
In the past, our strategy of show-of-force has proven to be very effective, therefore, we decided to continue in the same trend with contingency plans in place. Also, this deployment which consist of members from the province of Free State and members, particularly specialised forces from other provinces compliments our normal day-today policing in this city and this will certainly help reduce reaction times quite significantly in the unlikely event an incident should occur.
Therefore, security in the surrounding areas is complemented rather than compromised. In addition to the main event on Sunday, 8 January 2012, we have also planned for the management of any parallel events whether or not they are associated with the ANC Celebration activities. We are utilising specialised units such as the Public Order Police to ensure a smooth flow of large crowds and prevent possible unruly behaviour.
Our strength in providing the best security for a major event such as this rests in the deployment of our specialised units such as the Special Task Force, the National Intervention Unit, Public Order Policing, Tactical Response Teams and the VIP Protection Unit. We are satisfied that we have taken every detail into consideration when deploying our members from all security forces.
The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Committee would like to thank the residents of Mangaung for their unwavering support and tolerance to our security deployment in this city.
"While we have successfully secured over 170 major events in the past, we will always be measured by the deliverance of the latest event. Therefore, as joint security forces we will not in any way be complacent", said General Mkwanazi.
For enquiries, please contact:
Colonel Vishnu Naidoo
Tel: 012 4006579 /6629 /6576
Fax: 0 12 400 7018
Cell: 082 567 4153
