Some ambassadors have tipped off government about criminals from their countries heading to South Africa to take advantage of the 2010 Soccer World Cup to ply their illicit human trafficking and other criminal activities, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said on Friday.

This had also prompted security chiefs from SADC countries to make border control a priority ahead of the World Cup, he said.

“South Africa’s ambassadors have been picking up concerns in those countries about how some criminals from those countries want to use 2010 to come into South Africa and forcibly try to flood our country with drugs,” Nqakula said during a cabinet cluster briefing in parliament.

There were additional fears that 2010 would be used by criminal syndicates to boost trade in humans with an increase in “people smuggling”, he said.

Nqakula admitted that the government was concerned that criminals would slip through South Africa’s borders into the country.

The Southern African Regional Police Chiefs’ Co-operation Organisation conference held recently in Kempton Park put border control at the top of its agenda, “particularly in light of the 2010 Fifa World Cup”.

“They are going to be making available people so that we will prevent the illegal entry of people into South Africa,” he told reporters.

A security analyst has also warned that big international crime syndicates were already studying the 2010 event for opportunities.

“We know that the huge syndicates are already assessing the huge opportunity and you can bet your life on it that they are making plans on how to use that event to ply their trade,” Institute for Security Studies analyst Johan Burger said.

South Africa is already recognised as an import hub for the global distribution of drugs and human trafficking because of its advanced transport system and democratic principles that give criminals space to manoeuvre, Burger said.

The cabinet lekgotla last month decided to adopt international norms by agreeing that the SA Revenue Service (Sars) would co-ordinate the country’s border control work.

Nqakula said rogue traders and organised crime syndicates were exploiting internationally based supply chains to get into the country.

A green paper on customs modernisation will be released soon for comment, which will inform the draft white paper on the matter.

Nqakula also announced that the government planned to recruit 100 000 police reservists to complement the 190 000 police officers the SA Police Service will have by 2009.

He made an impassioned plea for professionals to join the fight against crime, especially helicopter pilots.

“We need pilots. We are buying more helicopters but our programme of producing people to fly those helicopters is not producing pilots quite quick enough.”

Nqakula said crime fighting proposals would also be brought before the ANC’s policy conference this year for discussion.

The proposals include aspects of the SAPS Act relating to Community Policing Forums, which Nqakula said had to be given more powers to become effective.

CPFs are part of government’s front line strategy to fight crime.

Nqakula said the CPFs currently relied on resources from the SAPS to operate, but resources were often not forthcoming. “When the law has been changed … they will have the necessary resources and work side by side with the police.”

In addition CPFs – which will now be called Community Safety Forums – will be given more powers and resources. This would allow them to interact and monitor the criminal justice system. “These changes are going to help us tremendously.”

• This article was originally published on page 2 of Pretoria News on February 17, 2007