Bereng Mpaki
OPERATORS in the private security industry have formed the Lesotho Federation of Private Security Associations (LEFEPSA) as an umbrella body for all security associations as part of efforts to ensure professionalism in the industry.
LEFEPSA was officially registered in November and it is regulated by the Ministry of Home Affairs in terms of the Private Security Officers’ Act of 2002.
Interim LEFEPSA president, Limo Matholo said past issues of lack of organisation and coordination had made it difficult for security providers to address common issues which affected the development of the sector.
“Through the unity that will be brought by the federation, we will take private security services to a completely new level and improve the quality and professionalism of our services to our clients,” Mr Matholo told the Lesotho Times this week.
Mr Matholo said among other things, LEFEPSA would adopt a common training curriculum for all private security companies, adding, “We have already developed the training manual which will ensure that all security companies employ a uniform training regime for their security guards”.
“This will not only help us to standardise the skills of our personnel but to also grade our personnel from Grade E as the entry level to the highest level of Grade A,” he said.
He said the implementation of the training curriculum would be done in tandem with the establishment of training centres.
He said the new organisation would also intensify efforts to tackle the challenge of illegal security operators who brought unfair competition to legally registered companies.
“A registered private security company has a certificate of registration from the ministry of home affairs and that certificate will have a registration number,” he said, adding, the situation had been exacerbated by foreign investors who found it difficult to differentiate between a registered entity and illegal one.
He said with time, LEFEPSA would also address delays in payment from clients, which threatened the survival of many security companies.
