Willem Els: Mkhwanazi’s Mexico warning, the R1-billion bust - but no boots on the ground

Following the recent R1-billion drug bust at Beitbridge, there is renewed focus on the warning by KZN Provincial Police Commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that South Africa could become another Mexico or El Salvador if politically- and police-connected drug cartels were not dealt with. In this interview with Chris Steyn, Willem Els of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) shares the findings of the ISS' latest drug study. “On the operational level, we're sitting with severe challenges. We've got most of the senior commissioners of police that are being arrested or suspended or so on. So we've got a power vacuum there and so on… one of the biggest challenges is the severe disinvestment in your capability in the police, intelligence-wise, as well as operational. We do not have boots on the ground. We do not have sufficient equipment and infrastructure…. ” Els details the ISS’ recommendations, and expresses optimism that with the appointment of General Mkhwanazi as Head of the Organised Crime Desk, “there might be some improvement now”.