A Crisis at the Gate: How Unpaid Security Guards Are Putting National Safety at Risk

A ticking time bomb is threatening South Africa’s most sensitive sitesfrom international airports to major public hospitalsand it’s being manned by the very people tasked with protecting them. A growing scandal around Mafoko Security Patrols, whose guards have gone unpaid for months, has triggered alarm among experts, unions, and opposition parties, who warn that the situation poses a direct and severe risk to national security.

An internal Mafoko memo confirms the company failed to pay salaries due on 15 December 2025, blaming delayed revenue and promising payment only by 15 January 2026. This is reportedly part of a pattern of sporadic or late payments over the past 18 months at sites managed by the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) and other public sector contracts.

“A Real Risk of Loss of Life”

The implications are dire. Security specialist Jimmy Roodt explains that unpaid personnel suffer from dangerously low morale, distraction, and resentment. “This can lead to reduced vigilance, absenteeism or even intentional lapses in duty,” he said. In an airport environment, this directly heightens vulnerabilities: overlooked suspicious items, inadequate screening, or delayed responses to threats. “These are not minor compliance breaches. They present a real risk of loss of life and could end up causing severe economic disruption.”

A Web of Debt and Alleged Theft

The salary crisis is just the tip of the iceberg. Mafoko faces massive litigation over unpaid pension fund contributionsdeducted from workers’ payslips but never paid over. SAPTU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi alleges the company owes between R111 million and R330 million in stolen contributions, calling it “a deliberate act of theft and contempt for the law.”

The DA’s Jack Bloom points to a suspicious ballooning of hospital security costs in Gauteng, from R655 million in 2022 to R2.54 billion this year, with Mafoko holding a R180 million contract at George Mukhari Academic Hospital alone. “I suspect corruption,” Bloom stated, “as many security companies seem to be grossly over-charging while underpaying their workers.”

Calls for Criminal Charges and Contract Cancellations

The response has been furious. Unions and political parties are demanding:

• Criminal prosecution of Mafoko’s directors under the Pension Funds Act.

• Blacklisting the company from all state tenders.

• Immediate termination of its existing contracts at key points.

The EFF in Gauteng has joined the call for contract cancellations, citing failures to pay wages, UIF, and pensions. Industry peers have flagged the issue with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (Psira), warning of the national key point risk.

Mafoko, when contacted, offered “no comment.” As questions hang over Acsa and regulatory bodies, the situation remains critical. The nation’ frontline defenders at its most vulnerable points are themselves vulnerableunpaid, demoralized, and potentially compromised. It’s a security failure not born from external threat, but from internal neglect and alleged corporate malfeasance, leaving the country’s gates guarded by those who have every reason to look the other way.

{Source: Citizen}

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