JOHANNESBURG - The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) lack the capacity to defend the country and its citizens against emerging threats, including organised crime and potential conflict.
This is according to retired former Deputy Chief of the South African Army, General Roland de Vries.
De Vries warned as far back as two years ago that South Africa was facing a growing risk of anarchy.
“It’s heartbreaking to say, but we do not have a Defence Force anymore. We do not have a police force,” he said.
He pointed to ongoing developments at the Madlanga Commission as evidence of deep-rooted problems within the SAPS.
“If we look at what is happening at the Madlanga Commission, we see that the SAPS is rife with corruption and mismanagement, and the ANC government is not doing any better,” he said.
De Vries, who served in the military for 37 years, said the President -- as Commander-in-Chief of the SANDF -- must clearly understand the nature of the threats facing the country.
“Otherwise, he will not find the remedy to counter the threat. If you look at the current state of conflict in our country, crime is rampant, and corruption and mismanagement are rife within government structures,” he said.
He added that the current law enforcement system is unable to effectively respond to the threats South Africa faces.
“I believe the current system for law enforcement cannot control the present threats in our country,” he said.
De Vries also dismissed former president Thabo Mbeki’s suggestion that apartheid-era agents may still be active and destabilising communities.
Speaking at an Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans conference, Mbeki previously argued that remnants of the apartheid security apparatus were partly responsible for the ANC’s electoral decline, the rise of Jacob Zuma’s MK Party, and the 2021 July unrest.
De Vries rejected this view.
“I find elements of that totally incoherent. Apartheid has been dead for thirty years. Those intelligence systems and the people involved are old now. Where are they? Who do they belong to? Who are the instigators of conflict in our country? I cannot see any of those systems operating in townships anymore,” he said.
He also argued that far-right organisations operating in South Africa lack the capacity to pose a significant threat.