The Chairperson of the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, just after midnight this morning, congratulated all member departments on the role which they have played in ensuring that the opening ceremony and first two games of the Orange African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2013 took place in a peaceful, safe and secure environment.
The NATJOINTS, comprising of the South African Police Service, the South African National Defence Force, the various Metro Police departments and the intelligence community and other relevant departments, ensured that all key role players were escorted and protected throughout the entire event.
This included Heads of State including our own Ministers and Deputy Ministers, the teams, match officials and – also very importantly – the 72 000 football fans who watched Bafana Bafana take on Cape Verde.
Various other security operations and safety exercises were carried out successfully, such as route and rail security, road safety, inner and outer stadium security, host city and accommodation security, airspace control, social responsibility, by-law enforcement and emergency medical services.
Other measures successfully implemented prior to the opening include border movement control, enforcing of customs, immigration, agricultural and health regulations and ensuring safe team movements. These operations, and many others, will continue until the end of the AFCON tournament.
“ A massive security operation, coordinated by the NATJOINTS and our Gauteng provincial counterparts the Provincial Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (PROVJOINTS), was carried out over a 24 hours period and all aspects of this operation can confidently be declared successful”, said General Mawela at a debriefing session at the core command base early this morning.
“The inter-departmental cooperation was excellent, as it was during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and many other major events, and the spirit of camaraderie between NATJOINTS personnel and the public was motivating to our busy members”, he added. “There was also constant communication between the NATJOINTS and other AFCON provinces which were on full alert due to bad weather, especially the Mpumalanga PROVJOINTS, which had its hands full with disaster management operations”.
Lessons learned during yesterday’s operations, which we have noted during other major events at stadiums and would like to share with football fans ahead of the next round of matches, are:
- Although fans were asked not to take umbrellas to the stadium, a very large number of umbrellas had to be confiscated at the gates to the National Stadium. If indement weather is being experienced or expected, we again ask fans to leave umbrellas at home and take waterproof clothing to the stadium.
- Minor traffic congestion was caused mainly by people driving to the stadium without being in possession of parking tickets. These people were turned away and this, mostly, led to the congestion that was experienced. Commuters are requested to ensure that they have a parking ticket or to make use of public transportation, including the park and ride facility.
- Fans are also strongly urged to take personal responsibility for their possessions and ensure that they are kept safely on their person or under their immediate control at all times. Here particular reference is made to cellular phones, cameras and laptops/ipads. Many of these items go missing which results in cases of theft being registered after the match.
- Another possession which seems to regularly go missing is the children of football fans, in and around stadiums. Please keep your children under your direct supervision at all times. Although we have social workers deployed from the NATJOINTS and PROVJOINTS at the stadiums, it is very traumatic for the children to be separated from the parents.
- Although we want the fans to have fun, it is always best to exercise moderation. During the event on Saturday we had to search for two people reported lost, who were later found intoxicated. This state can lead to a person being the victim of a crime or getting injured which will clearly ruin the outing for a number of people.
We would also like to remind visitors from other countries, especially those where yellow fever transmissions occur, that they will not be allowed into South Africa without proof of having had a yellow fever vaccination at least ten days prior to travelling. Strict measures are in place to enforce this policy as a lack of any curative medication for yellow fever means that we have to vigorously pursue all preventative mechanisms.
Last week six passengers, fans originating from Burkina Faso, on a flight into Mpumalanga were prevented from entering the country because they had not had yellow fever vaccinations prior to travelling. They were deported on the plane on which they arrived when it left the country.
Once again, the NATJOINTS would like to thank all officials deployed on Saturday 19 January 2013, all fans, teams and visitors. We anticipate that the matches at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium this evening and at the Mbombela stadium tomorrow - and all future matches - will be just as safe and enjoyable. We remain on duty and committed to your safety.
Media enquiries:
Brigadier Sally de Beer
Cell: 082 779 8658
Captain Dennis Adriao
Cell: 082 828 5773
