/ 6 April 2006

New San security guards ready for work

A rural security company established to create jobs in the San community in the Northern Cape has already secured contracts in three

provinces, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Gert Schoombie, managing director of Sanda Security, said the first group of newly-trained security guards consisting of members of the !Xun and Khwe community had received their certificates.

”Twenty people will be placed — mostly on farms — in the Kalahari, the Free State and in Mpumalanga by Monday next week,” said Schoombie.

Sanda (meaning ”honey-badger” in the !Xun and Khwe language), which incorporates a training academy, was established through a private initiative to employ security guards recruited exclusively from the region’s San community.

”It was established with the main idea to create work and to ensure a source of income in the community,” Schoombie said.

The first 40 guards received their certificates from Northern Cape premier Dipuo Peters in a ceremony at the farm Platfontein near Kimberley on Tuesday.

Schoombie said the guards were trained in regular security work and received further training in ”veldwerk” (field work).

”It was mainly focused on sharpening their skills in tracking and other field work,” he said, adding that the new security guards were ”multi-skilled”.

A second group of 40 guards have already started their training. – Sapa