Progress made in combatting “economic sabotage” – President

Thousands of arrests related to the damage of essential and critical infrastructure have been made since June last year, with a further 70 people arrested in relation to extortion at construction sites.

This was revealed by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the Questions for Oral Reply session held at the National Council of Provinces on Thursday.

The President said that in an effort to combat economic sabotage some 20 Economic Infrastructure Task Teams have been established through the SA Police Service.

“A total of 946 personnel have been allocated to the 20 Economic Infrastructure Task Teams from existing structures within each province, district and station. They are experienced and knowledgeable personnel within their respective functional environments.

“The Task Teams integrate processes, resources and intelligence across all of the operational environments of the SAPS under a single command. This is to enable them to successfully combat essential infrastructure crimes, illicit mining and extortion within the construction sector.

“The Task Teams incorporate personnel from SAPS divisions such as Crime Intelligence, Visible Policing and Operations, and Detective and Forensic Services, as well as the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation,” he said.

President Ramaphosa said an operational budget of R20 million has been “ring-fenced and allocated for the implementation of the Economic Infrastructure Task Teams during the 2022/2023 financial year and a further R17 million for the 2023/2024 financial year”.

“Between their establishment in June last year and the end of June this year, the Task Teams have made over 4 000 arrests with respect to the damage of essential and critical infrastructure.

“They have also arrested over 70 people with respect to extortion at construction sites and made over 3 000 arrests for illegal mining. The Task Teams have confiscated significant quantities of copper cable, rail tracks and other metals,” President Ramaphosa said.

He bemoaned the damage that the destruction of infrastructure has on the South African economy.

“The sabotage of our infrastructure and our economy continues to pose a great threat to the country’s development. However, through the work of the Economic Infrastructure Task Teams, together with partners in the state and the private sector, we are making progress in combating these crimes,” President Ramaphosa said.