SANDF deployed to tackle crime in key provinces
· Citizen
The South African National Defence Force will deploy soldiers for a year to provinces struggling to quell rampant crime and illegal mining, according to a mission plan presented to parliament yesterday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the deployment last month, calling organised crime the “most immediate threat” to SA’s democracy and economic development.
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Troops are due to move into affected provinces this month.
MSANDF move into affected provinces this month
The mission is scheduled to run until 31 March next year, according to the plan presented to parliament’s policing committee.
The operation will include the Western Cape, notorious for deadly gang violence on the outskirts of Cape Town.
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But no boots are on the ground yet, with mission-readiness training and the establishment of a joint command structure still to take place before deployment begins.
“It’s not something that happens immediately or overnight,” said Major-General Mark Hankel.
The plan has drawn criticism from experts and opposition parties, who say troops lack policing skills and warn the costly move admits police have failed to curb violent crime.
Mission to create space for organised crime roll-out
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia defended the mission, saying it would create space for the roll-out of a broader organised crime strategy.
“The deployment of the South African National Defence Force is not being presented as a panacea, as a magic bullet,” Cachalia told lawmakers.
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“This country is in its FBI moment. We need a new paradigm.”
Excluding countries at war, SA has one of the world’s highest homicide rates, with an average of 60 killings each day.
SA has repeatedly turned to the army in times of crisis, from enforcing Covid lockdowns in 2020 to deploying troops during deadly riots sparked by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma in 2021.