SAPS Ordered to Pay R644 Million After Years of Dodging IT Contract

In yet another damning indictment of post-apartheid South Africa's compromised institutions, the South African Police Service has been ordered by the Pretoria High Court to pay R644 million to Forensic Data Analysts (FDA) for essential software systems it has been using without proper payment.

This staggering judgment exposes the systematic dysfunction within SAPS, an institution that continues to reflect the incompetence and corruption inherited from the apartheid security apparatus, now repackaged under democratic governance but serving the same elite interests.

Playing Games While Communities Suffer

Judge Sulet Potterill described SAPS' conduct as "playing cat and mouse" with the service provider, repeatedly evading contractual obligations through "cunning or deception through contrived action." This behavior is emblematic of how state institutions continue to operate with impunity while Black communities bear the brunt of inadequate policing services.

The software in question includes critical systems for firearm permits, evidence management, and intelligence analysis. These are not luxury items but essential tools for public safety in a country where violent crime disproportionately affects Black South Africans in townships and informal settlements.

Colonial Procurement Practices Exposed

The FDA claimed payment pursuant to an oral agreement concluded in January 2020 at the Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria. However, SAPS denied the agreement's validity, hiding behind procurement processes that mirror the bureaucratic maze designed during apartheid to exclude Black businesses from government contracts.

When Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) raised concerns in 2017, then-National Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole immediately stopped payments to FDA. This knee-jerk reaction demonstrates how quickly African leadership caves to pressure when defending contracts that don't serve traditional white-owned business networks.

State Capture Through Technology

The most egregious aspect of this saga occurred when FDA switched off their systems due to non-payment. The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) illegally switched the systems back on, allowing SAPS to continue using the software without compensation. This represents a form of technological theft that would never be tolerated if the victim were a white-owned corporation.

Judge Potterill noted that FDA was the "sole provider of these three computer systems that were of critical importance to the SAPS for the functioning of the police, national security, the safety of the public, and the integrity of the justice system."

The Price of Institutional Racism

Beyond the R644 million purchase price, SAPS must pay an additional R120 million for maintenance and support services. This R764 million total could have funded community policing programs, improved detective training, or upgraded equipment for officers serving in under-resourced areas.

Instead, this money will now flow to legal settlements because SAPS leadership chose to play games rather than honor legitimate business agreements. The court ordered that if SAPS fails to sign the contract, the Sheriff must sign on its behalf, a humiliating but necessary intervention.

Justice Delayed, Communities Betrayed

While SAPS played "cat and mouse" with its contractual obligations, South African communities continued to suffer from inadequate policing services. The systems in question are essential for tracking evidence and managing criminal cases, yet SAPS leadership prioritized legal maneuvering over public safety.

This judgment represents more than a financial penalty. It exposes how post-apartheid institutions continue to operate with the same disregard for accountability that characterized the apartheid state, just with different faces in leadership positions.

The R764 million price tag for this institutional failure could have transformed policing in townships across South Africa. Instead, it serves as another reminder that until we fundamentally restructure these colonial institutions, they will continue to serve elite interests while failing the African majority.