City of Cape Town MMC for safety and security JP Smith is facing intense scrutiny after a group of US Marine Corps members was spotted conducting training exercises with the city’s metro police.
A video showing the Marines in uniform participating in physical activities went viral, sparking public outrage and raising concerns about the presence of foreign boots on the ground.
Smith clarified that the group was not in the city specifically for a training mission. Instead, they are part of a permanent security detachment linked to the US Consulate.
According to Smith, the Marines offered to assist in improving the metro police’s physical conditioning.
“They have a rigorous fitness training college, and the metro police have been increasingly trying to step up our physical fitness programmes,” Smith said in an interview with the SABC. “They offered to share their standard physical fitness routines with our staff, who were happy to participate.”
Smith emphasised that the detachment was not acting in a military or policing capacity.
“They are not armed and they’re not training any kind of policing procedure or anything else. It’s just a physical training exercise.”
The MMC maintained that the city acted within its legal rights, noting that South Africa frequently receives training through partnership agreements with foreign cities and governments. He asserted that the city did not require permission from the department of international relations and co-operation (Dirco).
“We ran this past our legal services, and they indicated there was no issue. We are confident that this falls well within the legal framework and requires no special permission,” Smith stated. He added that the security detachment is legally stationed in South Africa and that the training sessions cost the city no money.
However, the Presidency has taken a dim view of the collaboration. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya condemned the move, highlighting a potential breach of foreign policy competence.
“This is very wrong,” Magwenya said. “The municipal level of government does not have any foreign policy competence. This includes agreements, whether formal or informal, with the militaries of foreign states.”
Magwenya confirmed that Dirco will now liaise with all involved parties to resolve the matter.
TimesLIVE
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