Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has defended the more than R600 million spent on the June 30 policing operation, saying the deployment prevented greater destruction and protected South Africa’s security.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has defended the over R600 million spent on the police operation during the June 30 protests, asserting that the expenditure was essential to avert a recurrence of violent unrest.
At an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration media briefing on Sunday, Cachalia clarified that the funding was sourced entirely from the existing police budget, allocated to mobilise resources for potential security threats, including activating reservists, paying overtime, and accommodating officers deployed nationwide.
"There have been a lot of questions about the cost of police action on June 30th," Cachalia said.
He noted that while the focus of the previous briefing had been on preventing a possible violent shutdown, public questions had since shifted toward concerns about strengthening law enforcement and addressing challenges related to vigilantism and groups allegedly fuelling tensions.
