Задержки с закупкой: южноафриканская полиция рассматривает обход бюрократии через агентство Armscor

South Africa’s national rollout of police body-worn cameras has no firm timeline after procurement delays, but existing legislation may allow Armscor to bypass the bottleneck that has held up the project for more than a year. Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia recently acknowledged that there is no longer a firm timeline for implementation. In a written Parliamentary response to the Democratic Alliance (DA), Cachalia stated that the South African Police Service (SAPS) body camera procurement process was still underway and that the tender had not been concluded. In 2024, the Police Ministry is on record stating that “SAPS intends to commence the deployment of body-worn cameras from the 2025/26 financial year” with an earlier target of April 2025 for trials, but those dates have long passed. The delay comes despite repeated commitments to introduce the technology and growing pressure from Parliament for the SAPS to modernise. Cachalia said R14 million had been allocated in the 2025/26 financial year to support the procurement of body-worn cameras and vehicle dashboard cameras nationally. The Acting Police Minister explained that the SAPS had applied for a deviation to publish the body camera bid, but the application was not approved, meaning the process would have to be handled by the State Information Technology Agency (SITA). “The bid is still to be advertised by SITA,” Cachalia said. Once a service provider is appointed, the SAPS will develop a comprehensive national rollout plan, which will determine the timeline for full implementation. Body-worn cameras are no longer standalone pieces of equipment. They rely on software, storage, security and digital evidence-management systems, placing them within the information and communications technology procurement environment and, ordinarily, the State Information Technology Agency. The Portfolio Committee on Police has previously described SITA as a “major stumbling block” to technological advancement within the SAPS. Regulation 17.5 of the SITA regulations specifically allows the SAPS, where the required safety and security determination and concurrences are obtained, to procure ICT goods or services directly from suppliers or through another institution rather than SITA, raising the question of whether Armscor could be used. Under the Armscor Act, the defence acquisition agency may, with the approval of the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, procure commercial matériel on behalf of another organ of state. It has already done so on numerous occasions. For example, the Border Management Authority (BMA) used Armscor to procure body-worn cameras, drones and an associated digital evidence-management capability; the equipment was subsequently deployed during BMA operations. Armscor also already works directly with the SAPS. In 2025 it transferred two H125 helicopters to the police, building on an existing acquisition and support relationship, and also facilitated the police acquisition of a dozen Marshall internal security vehicles from Paramount. Using Armscor would therefore not require creating an entirely new government procurement mechanism. It would still require the necessary approvals, procurement controls and compliance with security and interoperability standards, but the legislation appears to provide a route worth testing. Mzamo Billy, Democratic Alliance National Council of Provinces Member on the Select Committee on Security and Justice, has emphasised that body-worn cameras improve transparency, preserve evidence, protect honest officers from false accusations and deter misconduct and said the DA will continue to press Cachalia to do his job, and to urgently finalise the procurement process. Meanwhile, Parliament has said it wants faster technology deployment, and police leadership has repeatedly acknowledged the operational value of the cameras. Mpho Matlala, a professor at the College of Law and School of Criminal Justice at UNISA, told Radio 702 that the lack of a timeline for body camera rollout demonstrates poor planning and a lack of political will. Matlala said technologies like body cams and dash cams enabled the monitoring of police actions in real-time, which enhances accountability while serving as a deterrent for the police and the public. With the current procurement process unable to produce a firm delivery date, the SAPS could assess whether the Regulation 17.5 mechanism can be activated and whether Armscor can manage the acquisition.