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Cape Town Firm Hiring Soldiers for R200m Security Mission

Cape Argus (Cape Town)
NEWS
July 21, 2004
Posted to the web July 21, 2004

By Zenzile Khoisan

A city security personnel recruitment firm has won a R200 million contract to
put South African military and intelligence operatives to work in a
neighbouring state.
The people taken on for a six-month deployment abroad will be paid R50 000 a
month.
International Intelligence Risk Management convened a recruitment meeting
attended by more than 300 ex-soldiers and security force members in Parow last
week.
According to job contracts signed by Johnathan Constable, Risk Management's
chief executive, the successful applicants will be required to do security-
related work "in an undisclosed foreign country".
The contract says that once signed up, the new employees will be paid a R10 000
advance seven days before departure.
Several former military operatives and sources in the intelligence services
have questioned the exact mission for which the operatives are being recruited.
It is illegal to recruit South African citizens as mercenaries in terms of the
Foreign Military Assistance Act.
Risk Management's South African spokesman, Derek Davids, said the venture was
not in violation of the act.
"We are involved in an international security contract with a state, and the
services we are contracted to deliver to our client includes bodyguard duties,
setting up investigative and intelligence units and ensuring the security of
the state in which our client is based."
Davids said the state in question was not one with active military conflict.
"I want to make it absolutely clear we have secured a huge contract, in a
country where there are already 11 other security firms operating, but that we
are not working in a conflict area, such as (the Democratic Republic of)
Congo," he said.
"We are already involved in specific work such as bodyguard duties for the
South African representatives of our client."
There has been speculation in the security industry that Risk Management was
contracted to protect a head of state who had lost faith in his own security
services.
But Davids said: "We are there to help with development and infrastructure, and
to minimise the risk to our client. At no time did we say that our client does
not trust his own personnel."
Davids said the contract was worth about R200m, of which R150m was earmarked
for salaries.
Dominique Nel, spokeswoman for NJL Staff Placement, one of the groups
contracted by Risk Management, said: "We have aimed to recruit people across
the racial line, who are registered with the Security Officers Board or who
have the proper military and intelligence training and certification."
She said her company was concerned that it was seen to be recruiting
mercenaries.
"We are not here to recruit mercenaries, and the contract makes it absolutely
clear that the deployment of these operatives would not be in violation of the
Foreign Military Assistance Act."
Lorna Daniels, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Intelligence, said: "We are
aware of the existence of this company (Risk Management) and we have absolutely
no dealings with them."

   

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