Former Scorpions head Bulelani Ngcuka, who has been appointed executive chairperson of black economic empowerment (BEE) company Amabubesi Investments, is to become actively involved in the private security industry.
Amabubesi CEO Sango Ntsaluba said on Monday that Ngcuka will play an active role in the investigations arm of Stallion Security, a privately held BEE security company in which Amabubesi holds a stake.
“Mr Ngcuka will play an important role in Stallion Security beefing up their investigations arm and passing on his considerable experience in the field of combating crime. He will be involved in a hands-on capacity.”
Clive Zulberg, CEO of Stallion Security, one of the largest privately held security companies in South Africa, said talks are well advanced to define a specific role for Ngcuka within Stallion Security.
“We have one of the most sophisticated investigations arms of any security company in South Africa and we envisage that the former Scorpions head will be able to bring some of his considerable crime-fighting talents to bear,” Zulberg said.
Ntsaluba — a chartered accountant who serves on the board of a number of state bodies, including the National Electricity Regulator and the South African Special Risks Insurance Association — said Ngcuka was “delighted” at the prospect of retaining an interest in the crime-fighting arena.
“The knowledge and expertise that he accumulated as head of the Scorpions and as national director of public prosecutions will be invaluable in expanding the operations of Stallion Security.”
Ngcuka currently serves on the board of Transnet and is a director at Smith Tabata Ramsay Webber Buchanan Boyes Attorneys.
Zulberg said one area in which Ngcuka’s expertise will be invaluable is in the ongoing fight against white-collar crime.
“Corporate crime is currently costing the South African economy upward of R40-billion a year. There is hard evidence to show that white-collar crime is siphoning off more money from the economy than was brought in by foreign tourism (about R32-billion last year).
“Apart from bleeding the economy dry, it is frightening off foreign investors who prefer to invest in countries with lower corporate crime rates,” he said.
He said one possible solution is for the private sector to become more involved in fighting white-collar crime.
“Based on our experience, I believe we need more and better trained commercial-crime specialists in the private security industry, and it is in this arena where Mr Ngcuka’s skills will be brought to bear.”
He said Stallion Security has already grouped together some of the top forensic specialists and specialised fraud investigators to service the hard-pressed corporate sector.
“Despite the very best efforts of the South African Police Service, they simply do not have the manpower to keep up. Increasingly, the burden is going to fall on the private sector to assist them with their investigations,” he said. — I-Net Bridge