G20 venues and malls also at risk

EXPERT'S VIEW: SA IS DANGEROUSLY UNPREPARED

- Hein Kaiser

MALL RISK. The first tier of bomb threat mitigation lies with facility managers, but this system is 'broken', an expert says.

(Gallo Images)

Explosives and bomb safety expert Jimmy Roodt is warning that bomb safety threats extend beyond South Africa’s major airports.

He said that G20 venues could be dangerously unprepared for bomb threats, as are many shopping malls and convention, or conferencing facilities.

There are hundreds of bomb threats that occur every year, said Roodt. “What if one turns out to be real. Few facilities in the country are prepared. And with the escalation of global terrorism, it’s no longer a nice to have measure, but a necessity to be bomb-safe.”