The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) have heeded President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call for the government to intensify its fight against organised crime and strengthen cooperation among the security cluster departments.
In a joint media briefing in Pretoria on Sunday, SANDF chief Gen Rudzani Maphwanya and SAPS national commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola unveiled a special operational deployment that will steer a broader national effort to confront organised criminal networks, deal with crime, stabilise affected communities and restore public confidence in law enforcement.
Focus on hotspots
Dubbed “Operation Prosper”, the initiative will see 2 000 members of the SANDF deployed across the country to assist the SAPS in dealing decisively with crime. “The intervention will focus on the hot spot areas, which include, but not limited to, Free State, Gauteng, North West, Western Cape and the Eastern Cape – areas that have been identified through intelligence and crime analysis as being significantly affected by criminal activity.
During his State of the Nation Address in February, President Cyril Ramaphosa undertook to deploy SANDF troops to assist the police in the fight against the scourge of crime. He said the intervention would focus on areas that have been plagued by gang violence, illegal mining and
“To strengthen our fight against gang violence, I will be deploying the South African National Defence Force to support the police, as we did to great effect in addressing illegal mining,” Ramaphosa said.
The president’s announcement drew mixed reactions, with critics casting doubt over the SANDF’s suitability for the law enforcement role.
Stern assurance
However, in Sunday’s joint briefing, Maphwanya and Masemola were adamant that the deployment operation was a potent tool to give South Africans reason to feel safe.
“South Africans have rightly expressed deep concern about the levels of violent crime, the activities of organised criminal syndicates, and safety concerns in some communities. These concerns are legitimate, and we have taken the responsibility to respond decisively, strategically and with the full capability of the state, the joint statement read.
Sketching the severity of the problem, the joint statement said gang-related violence in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng continued to drive high levels of murder, extortion, drug trafficking and illegal firearm proliferation, devastating communities.
Maphwanya and Mesemola vowed to to “reclaim territory that has been controlled or influenced by criminal networks and firmly reassert the authority of the state”.
Troops already on the ground
They assured South Africans that the intervention is already underway. “The initial deployment in parts of the country has commenced and is progressing well, with joint operational teams already working together on targeted enforcement operations and area stabilisation activities. At the same time, the final phase of the joint mission readiness training, continues, and thereafter deployment will be expanded accordingly.”
