Delay in SANDF deployment to Cape Town gang hotspots raises alarm

It’s been nearly a month since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to gang-affected areas in the Western Cape.

But residents are still waiting for the first soldiers to arrive.

Troops were due to hit the ground in the designated hotspots on 1 March.

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The delay has raised Parliament's concern, with the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, saying in a briefing last week that SAPS told the committee the deployment was imminent.

"Although they couldn't give an exact date."

Cameron says a lack of coordination between SAPS and the defence force is slowing down the process.

"There was a whole mix-up with some joint training that still had to happen between SAPS and the SANDF."

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Moreover, he says SANDF indicated during a recent briefing that it would not take orders from SAPS.

"So, it seems to me like total chaos at the moment. I've also heard the acting minister say it is going to take some more time. I am honestly not sure at the moment who is on the same page."

During his State of the Nation Address last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa called organised crime the biggest threat to South Africa’s democracy.

In a bid to tackle the ongoing issue of gangsterism and related crime, he said troops would be sent into parts of the Western Cape and Gauteng.

Many, including Cameron, have been left wondering where the money is coming from to fund such a deployment.

"They've indicated over R80 million just for Gauteng... I want to understand where this money comes from."

There has been no indication of how the success of the deployment would be measured, nor how resource allocation would be determined according to that, adds Cameron.

"It seems to me it's just another way of opening the coffers for further corruption. We definitely cannot trust the senior ranking parts of the SANDF to manage it."

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Cameron says the absence of a clear operational plan is particularly troubling and warns the delay gives gangs valuable time to move weapons, drugs and other contraband before enforcement pressure increases.

“And this just goes to show why such a deployment, on face value, is usually not successful in the long run; in the short term it can help with stabilisation... The problem is they can't make sure convictions happen."

To listen to Cameron in conversation with CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit, use the audio player below: