Calls for PSIRA registration
- Advocates publicly urged PSIRA registration for safety and security training providers, criticizing unregistered foreign Marines in municipal roles. - The social post argued registration ensures accountability and consistent standards across public and private training programs. - The debate signals growing pressure for regulatory compliance and certification from clients and authorities commissioning security training. (x.com)
Calls for Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority registration moved into a wider fight over who is allowed to train security personnel in South Africa, after videos of US Marines drilling Cape Town Metro Police cadets drew fresh scrutiny in April. (capeargus.co.za) The City of Cape Town said the Muizenberg beach session was an “informal” fitness exercise with Marines based at the US Consulate and “there was no cost involved to the City,” according to mayoral committee member JP Smith. The national Ministry of Police said it was not aware of the drills when asked by reporters. (capeargus.co.za) GOOD Party secretary-general Jonathan Cupido said municipal police training must sit inside a national legal framework and said the city should disclose “the full legal basis, approvals and agreements on record.” His criticism focused on whether the Marines’ role went beyond physical conditioning into regulated training. (capeargus.co.za) That argument intersects with the rules for private security training. The Private Security Industry Regulation Act 56 of 2001 created the regulator, known as PSIRA, to control security service providers in the public and national interest. (saflii.org) PSIRA’s accreditation forms say any body that wants to operate as a training establishment for security officers must file a formal application, and the business and each director, member, partner, owner or trustee must be registered as security service providers. The same form requires details on instructors, training levels and trainee capacity. (psira.co.za) PSIRA’s current fee schedule shows that accreditation is not symbolic paperwork. For the 2025/26 year, a post-moratorium accreditation application costs R12,900, branch registration for an existing business costs R9,450, and re-accreditation costs R12,750. (psira.co.za) The regulator has also been pushing compliance more broadly. In a 2025 presentation, PSIRA said it registered 2,696 security businesses in 2023/24, accredited 195 new training centers, and captured 957,985 training course reports. (psira.co.za) Municipalities are already part of that compliance drive. A January 2025 report citing a parliamentary reply said PSIRA and the South African Local Government Association were working together to gather data on security officers and businesses operating within municipalities because the full number of unregistered providers was still unavailable. (protectionweb.co.za) The immediate dispute is over a beach drill in Cape Town, but the underlying question is narrower and more bureaucratic: who is registered, who is accredited, and who can be held accountable if training falls outside the rules. That is the pressure point behind the new calls for PSIRA registration. (capeargus.co.za, psira.co.za)
