South Africans pay R20000 monthly to own security

ITRealms

South Africans have ranked security second only to food in terms of overall human needs as they spend as much as R20000, about N324,000 a month to have their own security guard, reports ITRealms.

The President of the Security Association of South Africa, Clinton Phipps, said, "Even in these tough economic times we are still seeing an increase in people signing up with private security companies. This is because people place a lot of value on security."

ITRealms gathered from the Institute for Security Studies policing researcher Johan Burger that "Security is the second basic need after food. Those that can afford it, even if it is difficult in the current financial times, will still hang onto private security. It's not much use if you have everything else but you don't feel safe."

The Security boss further revealed that once the Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment Bill is signed into law, foreign-owned companies would give up 51 per cent ownership to South Africans, and would also affect importers and exporters of security equipment and locksmiths.

He disclosed that there are about 445000 registered active private security guards in South Africa compared to 270000 people working in public security services, including police officers and members of the armed forces.

The Blue Security sales director Paul Romeril on his part, ITRealms learnt, said security was not seen as a luxury but as a necessity, therefore households would often give up entertainment expenses, such as satellite television, to pay for security, while Economist Dawie Roodt said South Africans should not have to spend billions a year on security when they have paid taxes to the state to provide that service.
 
Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

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