National shutdown: No need to panic, says government

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SAPS

South Africa’s National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) has allayed fears of anarchy ahead of the EFF-led national shutdown on Monday.

In a lengthy statement on Saturday, NATJOINTS said maximum resources have been mobilised to heighten police visibility on the day to prevent and combat any form of opportunistic crimes.

It said multi-disciplinary deployments and operations in all provinces have already been activated.

Government said measures have been put in place by the security cluster to enable businesses and services to operate and that government and all modes of transport services will also be accessible to members of the public on Monday.

“Our operational approach in this regard is our standard Five Pillar Strategy to accelerate and enhance a multi-disciplinary approach to address potential and actual criminal activities through:

• Intelligence gathering, analysis and co-ordination
• Proactive approach which includes high visibility to police, prevent, and respond to the crime situation
• Combat approach as we enforce the law in response to any violation of the law through the deployment of Public Order Police together with other specialised unit. In this instance, the SANDF is on standby and will participate in the event that the situation on the ground dictates that the SANDF exercises their secondary role of supporting the SAPS.
• Reactive approach through detection and case management
• Communication where the national will be kept updates and awareness created through messaging that will enhance the safety and security of the nation.

Security will also be heightened at all our ports of entry – land, sea, and air.

We assure travellers into and out of the country that there is no need to panic,” read the statement.

It continued: "A word of caution to travellers that they might need to make provision for extra time factoring in security measure that will be in place to ensure the safety and security of everyone, including tourists.

As the NATJOINTS, we have a joint responsibility to protect everyone in our country and their property, including members of the international community.

While every citizen has a right to protest, we want to reiterate that this right must be exercised in a manner that does not infringe on the rights of non-protesters.

Prohibiting people's freedom of movement is a criminal offence.

We will therefore enforce the law decisively in this regard."

NATJOINTS said it will be the EFF's responsibility to ensure that protesters abide by the law.

"To this end, the NATJOINTS will not tolerate any lawlessness and any form of criminality, whichever way it manifests itself.

It is therefore important to note that anyone who is found to be contravening the law will be dealt with accordingly."