Claims the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) and the SA Police Service (SAPS) are, in effect, dragging their collective heels on the Presidential instruction to collaborate in preventing specifically gang violence and illegal mining have come from Parliamentary oversight committees.
The instruction, made public by Cyril Ramaphosa in his 12 February State of the Nation Address (SONA) and subsequently confirmed as going to last for 12 months ending on 31 March 2027, is in terms of a standing SANDF tasking – Prosper. It provides for military assistance in safety and security related operations to government agencies, departments and entities.
Partial confirmation of the deployment came by way of a 5 March Presidential letter to National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza. It serves to inform Parliament via the Office of the Speaker that 550 SANDF personnel will be “employed” in Gauteng for the year-long “Operation Prosper – illegal mining” tasking. Cost of the employment is given as R80 736 135. The Presidential missive makes no mention of the Eastern and Western Cape provinces also named as deployment areas by the SANDF Commander-in-Chief in his SONA.
During meetings last week both the Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) and the Portfolio Committee on Police (PCoP) raised the apparent lethargy in putting boots on the ground in the latest round of combined anti-crime efforts. The committees, according to Parliamentary Communication Services (PCS), expressed concern at a “seeming lack of collaboration” (JSCD) and “delays in presenting a cogent and coherent operational plan” (PCoP) in putting boots on the ground.
JSCD co-chair Phiroane Phala is quoted by PCS as saying presentations regarding the deployment were “incongruent,” with the committee “none the wiser about the scale, objective and planned operational deployment”. The statement further has him maintaining “it’s important that a joint plan be developed and tabled in Parliament”. This will highlight clear command and control of operations, accountability mechanisms, budget breakdown and funding instruments for the deployment and training to equip the SANDF to operate in civilian areas.
PCoP chair Ian Cameron is on record as raising concern about delays “on the part of senior management of the SAPS and the SANDF in presenting a cogent and coherent operational plan for the deployment of SANDF members to hotspot areas affected by gang violence and illegal mining”.
Elaborating, a PCS statement has him saying: “The lack of planning, uncertainty and silo mentality has been evident in the pre-deployment phase since the announcement made by the President during the 2026 SONA. A presidential directive cannot be handled with such lethargy and apparent disinterest”.
Cameron notes further the JSCD and PCoP meetings where SAPS and SANDF management were present “laid bare the lack of communication” between the two national security organisations. He has it this “discordance reflects the silo mentality between government departments and illustrates why the SAPS continues to struggle to effectively combat crime”. He expressed concern “about the SANDF suggestion that the deployment will occur across South Africa, which appears to diverge from the President’s original announcement”.
“If the SAPS and SANDF cannot agree on a simple matter such as command and control the effectiveness of the mission will inevitably be undermined,” are his concluding words.
With reference to the suggestion that the SANDF will deploy across the country, Cameron was referring to a Parliamentary briefing on 4 March that said soldiers would also be deployed to the Free State and North West to combat illegal mining.
