Why SANDF deployment is stalling and could fail

The failure of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the South African Police Service (Saps) to see eye-to-eye is delaying executive instructions, a parliamentarian has suggested.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, on 12 February, announced that soldiers would be deployed to assist in the fight against gangsterism and illegal mining.

Officials from the SANDF and Saps gave separate presentations to parliamentary committees last week, which outlined the broader objectives of the deployment.

The operational mandate allowed for boots on the ground from 1 March, but more than a week later, logistics are still being debated.

Presidential instructions

Ramaphosa said during his State of the Nation Address last month that soldiers would be deployed to areas in the Western Cape, North West, and Gauteng.

This was later expanded to the whole of the country, with National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola explaining the launch of specialised units to be supplemented with an SANDF presence.

“We will have dedicated teams dealing with specific crimes; small teams dealing with specific crimes such as carjacking, extortion, cross-border vehicle crime and drugs.

“The employment of the SANDF is to stabilise the areas while the rest of the teams will be dealing with the organised crime, with a view to dismantling those syndicates,” said the general on Wednesday.

SANDF Chief of Joint Operations Siphiwe Lucky Sangweni told a joint standing committee that military intelligence teams had already been deployed in preparation for a broader rollout.

Sangweni explained the SANDF’s involvement would focus on safeguarding civilians and ensuring the respect of human rights during operations.

‘Lethargy and apparent disinterest’

Committee members were unimpressed by the lack of details on accountability, consequence management and broader operational details.

Chair of both the police portfolio committee and joint standing committee, Ian Cameron, questioned whether the security structures were acting with enough urgency.

“The lack of planning, uncertainty and silo mentality has been evident in the pre-deployment phase since the announcement made by the president.

“A presidential directive cannot be handled with such lethargy and apparent disinterest,” Cameron stated on Monday.

“If the Saps and SANDF cannot agree on a simple matter such as command and control, then the effectiveness of the mission will inevitably be undermined.”

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He stressed that gang violence and illegal mining could not be approached in the same manner due to their unique dynamics.

“These are two completely different criminal environments that require different operational strategies, intelligence structures and resources.

“Attempting to combine gang suppression and illegal mining operations under a single, broad deployment risks diluting the effectiveness of both,” warned Cameron.

Cameron has since requested simultaneous appearances before both structures to explain how resources will be maximised.

Westbury shooting

While communities wait for assistance, five people were shot in Westbury last week in an incident that claimed two lives, one being a 15-month-old girl.

Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia visited the area on Saturday to address the “legitimate concerns” of an angry community.

He said that while Saps’ anti-gang unit required greater resources, gang-riddled communities required economic investment to create better pathways for the youth.

“Young people need sources of income and opportunity, but that’s absent.

“That tells you that what we need is an all-government approach; we can’t just rely on law enforcement. There’s underinvestment in these communities,” said Cachalia.

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