Jeremy’s weekly wrap: SAPS in crisis while criminals think outside the box

South Africa’s biggest risks it seems are no longer confined to the obvious crime statistics or economic headlines. This week’s top interviews on Moneyweb@Midday exposed a wider pattern of vulnerability, from the leadership crisis inside the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the rise of organised syndicates targeting household energy assets, to the hidden dangers of wearable technology and a major shift in animal health policy that could affect food security and prices.

Chad Thomas, CEO of IRS Forensic Investigations, said Parliament’s ad hoc committee and the Madlanga Commission had confirmed what many South Africans already suspected: the SAPS is facing a deep leadership and governance crisis.

He argued that factionalism, political appointments, internal empire-building, and the politicisation of crime intelligence had weakened the police service’s constitutional duty to protect citizens.

Thomas was particularly critical of the handling of former police minister Senzo Mchunu and the disbanding of the Political Killings Task Team, saying the crisis reflects a much longer pattern of poor senior appointments and institutional decline.

The consequence, he said, is felt most sharply by poorer communities that cannot afford private security. While Thomas stressed that South Africa is not a failed state, and that many good police officers remain, he warned that the public is being failed by a leadership culture that has allowed politics and personal power to displace public safety.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

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That weakening of public safety is also showing up in more targeted forms of organised crime. Rodney Taylor, managing director of security monitoring company Guardian Eye, warned that solar panels, batteries, gas bottles, and exterior lighting have become valuable targets for criminal syndicates.

He said these are no longer opportunistic thefts, but increasingly organised operations supported by tools, speed, and resale networks. Taylor urged households to treat energy installations as protected assets, recommending hidden sensors, AI-enabled cameras, secure bolts, gas enclosures, and stronger controls over second-hand solar equipment.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

Technology itself is creating a different kind of risk. Allan Juma, Southern Africa cybersecurity researcher at software company ESET, warned that smart glasses may look harmless but could pose serious privacy and surveillance challenges.

He said devices capable of recording, photographing, livestreaming, and storing footage without obvious consent could expose weaknesses in South Africa’s privacy laws. Popia (Protection of Personal Information Act), he argued, is struggling to keep pace with AI-enabled wearables, especially where facial recognition and real-time data searches could be used for stalking, profiling, or identity theft.

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You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

And in the agricultural sector, Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen said South Africa is shifting its animal disease strategy away from reactive crisis management and towards vaccination.

On bird flu, he said regulated vaccination would reduce the need for mass culling and provide greater certainty for poultry producers. On foot-and-mouth disease, he said government had launched a major vaccine acquisition programme, with a target of vaccinating 80% of the national cattle population by December.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

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