South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Commander-in-Chief, President Cyril Ramaphosa, has informed Parliament he has extended the deployment of 1 100 SANDF members for service in co-operation with the SA Police Service (SAPS) in preserving law and order.
The deployment is part of a standing tasking – Operation Prosper – committing the SANDF to assist other government department and entities with safety and security operations. In this instance it’s for the SAPS-led Operation Vala Umgodi (loosely translated as “plug the hole”) to curb illegal mining.
Ramaphosa’s letter to National Assembly (NA) Speaker Thoko Didiza, dated 6 November, has it the “employment” of SANDF personnel will be effective from 1 November to 31 March next year at a cost of R140 451 853.
Just on six months earlier, Ramaphosa informed Parliament – as is standard operating procedure (SOP) by way of a letter to the Speaker – of his intention to “employ” 2 300 SANDF personnel to assist police in the anti-illegal mining tasking. The Presidential missive, dated 15 May, is addressed to The Speaker which, at that time would have been Lechesa Tsenoli as Acting Speaker following the resignation of Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula in April.
The May letter authorised military involvement in Op Vala Umgodi from 29 April to 31 October and was the second Presidential extension following the initial deployment of 3 300 military personnel a year ago to the same SAPS operation. The April/October SANDF involvement in Vala Umgodi, as per the 15 May Ramaphosa letter, was at a cost of R349 907 616.
As with previous SANDF deployments in support of police actions, soldiers provide perimeter security and guard/sentry services while police are tasked with infiltration, search and seizure. This has been SOP since the first joint SAPS/SANDF deployment to curb gang violence on the Cape Flats five years ago.
Defence expert Dean Wingrin said the SANDF is once again being tasked to assist the police in something the police should be able to do on its own while the SANDF is underfunded and under resourced. “It shows the complete lack of understanding what the Defence Force is for and how bad other State departments have fallen/failed.”
South African National Defence Union (SANDU) general secretary Pikkie Greef told Newzroom Afrika, that it is very dangerous to normalise the deployment of the military onto the streets. “We are very concerned that South Africans are becoming accustomed to military deployment the civilian stream when in fact the police is supposed to be able to handle this situation on their own,” he said.
He added that the deployment of soldiers is “an indictment on the police. Something needs to be done about the police. They have four times more members than the defence force, they have way bigger budget.”
The SANDF’s Head of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Siphiwe Sangweni, told Parliament last week that the SANDF is being put under strain by the additional deployments. “We do not have adequate numbers, meaning boots on the ground, as well as we are struggling with capabilities, meaning equipment.”
The Operation Prosper extension comes as soldiers and police attempt to flush out hundreds of illegal miners underground at Stilfontein in the North West province.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise visited Stilfontein on Friday. Mchunu said authorities are doing everything in their power to get the illegal miners to resurface.
Mchunu said on Friday that 1 187 people have come to the surface from the mine. One illegal miner has passed away and police have registered an inquest to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.
