Deployment of SANDF soldiers extended to 13 Sept – at cost of R255m

President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended the deployment of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers to assist police in maintaining law and order in the country.

SANDF deployment extended

The deployment of 10,000 was confirmed via a letter on Monday from Ramaphosa to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). The deployment will be extended from 13 August 2021 to 13 September 2021.

The letter, addressed to NCOP chairperson Amos Masondo, was dated 10 August and also confirmed that the deployment would cost approximately R255 million – R254,914,500 to be precise.

As reported by SABC, the proposal of the reduction of the SANDF deployment was made by former defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula an hour before she was removed during the reshuffle.

Former president Jacob Zuma’s incarceration triggered widespread riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, with the death toll from the riots in both provinces rising to 72, while a total of 1,748 people have been arrested.

‘Don’t worry about the costs’

This follows after 25,000 soldiers were deployed on 12 July amid the violence and looting to attend to the intense unrest. At the time, however, Mapisa-Nqakula said Ramaphosa was unhappy about the initial deployment.

She said he suggested more soldiers be deployed, despite the cost as the “lives of South Africans being killed” should be prioritised.

“The president said at the meeting of the National Security Council that he is unhappy about with those numbers and that we should not worry about the costs, but we should be worried about the rampant looting and also the lives of South Africans who are being killed”.

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJoints) was said to have requested assistance from the SANDF to assist police in both Gauteng and KZN “to quell the unrest that has gripped both provinces”.

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