JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa has officially informed Parliament of the deployment of troops to help fight crime.
A total of 2,200 soldiers will be sent to Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State and North West.
They will help police in anti-illegal mining and anti-gangsterism operations.
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The deployment will run until the end of March 2027 at an estimated cost of R823-million.
The President told Parliament that permanent deployment is not feasible due to the high costs.
He urged communities to work closely with the SANDF and police to identify criminals and make their neighbourhoods safer.
Senior members of the SANDF attending the Joint Standing Committee on Defence were grilled about deployment dates, employment letters, training and proper deployment procedures.
The SANDF’s Chief of Staff Lt Gen Michael Ramantswana said the perceived delay in deployment is due to training, adding that operations are heavily intelligence-driven. He added that operational matters are classified and confidential, therefore cannot be disclosed.
Some members of the Committee were not satisfied with the responses from the army’s top brass.
Virgil Gericke said: “They could not explain. They were totally falling over their feet and they gave us incomplete answers and they came here not properly prepared.”
Another member, Nicholas Gotsell, was also not impressed.
“It became clear they are in an absolute shambles within the department of defence."