SANDF deployment to combat gang violence, illegal mining to begin in 10 days
The deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to support police operations against gang violence and illegal mining will begin within the next ten days, Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia confirmed in Parliament.
Speaking during the debate on the State of the Nation Address on Tuesday, Cachalia said operational plans have been finalised following meetings with National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola and SANDF Chief Rudzani Maphwanya.
The deployment is aimed at stabilising areas severely affected by gang-related killings, extortion, illegal mining and organised criminal activity.
“We have agreed that the method of deployment should learn from past experiences in South Africa, as well as experiences elsewhere, respect the respective mandates of the South African Police Service and the SANDF, as well as the Constitution, having regard to the imperative obligation to restore calm and stop the killings,” Cachalia said.
He stressed that the intervention would not blur constitutional boundaries between the military and the police, but would instead strengthen law enforcement capacity in high-risk areas.
“In addition, I have asked the national commissioner to take further steps to strengthen the anti-gang units and to deploy further specialised units, on which I am expecting a report,” he said.
Cachalia emphasised that the next phase of the crime-fighting strategy will focus heavily on intelligence-driven operations.
“It is also going to be critical in this period to implement steps to strengthen the capabilities required for intelligence-driven approaches to dismantle the networks behind organised crime,” he said.
To that end, multi-disciplinary task teams will be assembled, bringing together the National Prosecuting Authority, skilled detectives, officials from the Special Investigating Unit, and the South African Revenue Service.
“These teams will be targeting the leadership, finances, firearms and logistics of these criminal networks,” Cachalia said, signalling a strategy that goes beyond street-level arrests and instead focuses on dismantling organised crime structures.
He also announced plans to establish a multi-stakeholder Organised Crime Advisory Council to oversee implementation of a comprehensive and integrated Strategy to Combat Organised Crime.
“It will rely on open-source information and analysis to support the monitoring and oversight responsibility of the Ministry,” he said.
Cachalia made it clear that the deployment of the SANDF is only one component of a broader, whole-of-government intervention under the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy.
“This is a critical intervention because crime also has socio-economic roots,” he said. “The social cluster departments of government, including provincial and local government, have a critical role to play in improving safety and security across the country.”
He added that provinces hardest hit by gang violence, extortion and illegal mining must ensure that service delivery and development challenges in affected communities are addressed.
“We cannot fight gang violence and criminality by relying on law enforcement alone. Young people in these communities need opportunity and the prospect of a meaningful, dignified future,” Cachalia said.
ALSO READ
