In-person morning event hosted by Old Mutual

Presenters: Colonel (ret) Tollie Vreugdenburg and Professor Gérard Labuschagne

Date: 10 March 2023

Time: 09h00-12h00 (Sign-in from 08h30)

Venue: Old Mutual Head Office Sandton, No 1 Mutual Place, 107 Rivonia Rd, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa

Please note: this is an in-person event

Fee: none (but registration is essential due to limited space)

Join AfATAP for a morning in-person event on 10 March from 09h00-12h00 (registration from 08h30) hosted by Old Mutual at their Head Office in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Guest speakers are:

1. Colonel (ret) Tollie Vreugdenburg former head of the SAPS Counter Terrorism Investigation Unit, who will speak on the recent and pending changes to the ‘Terrorism’ Act and Disaster Management Act that will affect corporates, and
2. Prof Gérard Labuschagne who will speak about the related topic of the insider threat of the radicalization of employees.

This event is an AfATAP public interest event and attendance is free, but registration is required due to limited space.

Background to the presentations

Part 1: Colonel (ret) Tollie Vreugdenburg

Terrorism on South African soil is becoming a reality, with recent events such as the Sandton terror scare at the end of 2022, the sentencing of the Thulsie twins, the conviction of the leader of the right-wing terror group- the Crusaders- in 2022, kidnappings to fund terrorism, and the so-called Woolworths bombings, making headlines in South Africa.

On Tuesday 29 November 2022 the National Assembly of the South African Parliament passed an amendment Bill to the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act (POCDATARA) (commonly referred to as the ‘terrorism’ Act)

The Bill amends certain definitions in the terrorism Act, creates new offences related to maritime and aviation security, addresses the issue of foreign terrorist fighters and shifts the responsibility for the publication of United Nations Security Council Resolutions in a notice in the Government Gazette. It also places certain expectations that relate directly to the corporate environment such as amendments relating to.

• the protection of “information infrastructure”.
• the prohibition of publications with unlawful terrorism related content.
• the obligation of the duty to report the presence of a person suspected of intending to commit or having committed a terrorist activity.

The amendments have a direct impact on the corporate world as the reporting obligation rest squarely on the employer’s shoulders to report any suspicious actions by an employee related to suspected terrorist activities.

In addition, South African National Counter Terrorism Strategy is in the process of being revised and adjusted to new emerging threats. It is proposed that the Disaster Management Act will soon be amended, or proclamations be issued, to instruct institutions to design reaction plans to deal with terrorism attacks in the workplace, which will differ from existing disaster response plans (e.g. fire response plans) due to the nature of terrorist attacks. Besides the legal pending legal changes, there is a moral and ethical responsibility to develop such plans in light of the increase in terrorist activity on South African soil.

Colonel Vreudenburg will address the above issues as they relate to the corporate setting.

Part 2: Professor Gérard Labuschagne

The issue of an insider terrorism threat is becoming an increasing concern for corporates, as evidenced by the Thulsie Twins who worked for Discovery. But how do we know when a person is on a pathway to committing violent acts or sabotage related to terrorist activities, or is expressing their constitutionally protected rights to the freedom of expression and association? In the second portion of the mormning Prof Gerard Labuschagne will touch on the issue of radicalization, overvalued beliefs, and how to accurately and fairly assess if a person is on the pathway to acting out terrorism violence. Prof Labuschagne is the current president of AfATAP, a regular speaker at other threat association conferences, and one of two Certified Threat Managers from Africa with the US Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.