Force, lethargy and ‘common enemy’: Committee chairs on SANDF deployment

2026-03-19 - 13:30

Parliamentary committee chairs have shown a united front in addressing the country’s security challenges. Four committee chairpersons representing the peace and security cluster held a briefing on Thursday to provide updates on matters within their respective umbrellas. While focusing mainly on the current deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to assist police with crime-fighting efforts around the country, the committee chairs touched on a few other topics. ‘Exit strategies’ needed Chair of the select committee on security and justice, Jane Manasiso, suggested a further clampdown on guns, noting 40% of crimes involved a firearm. “We need the South African Police Service (Saps) to do more in respect of removing and destroying illegal firearms, because every illegal firearm removed from our communities reduces the chances of murder, robbery and gender-based violence,” said Manasiso. Phiroane Phala, co-chair of the joint standing committee on defence, denounced the war and aggression in the Middle East. He said the conflict threatened severe humanitarian consequences and wider global risks, especially for emerging nations. Phala declared his support for the SANDF deployment, but said the committee’s responsibility extended beyond verbal affirmation. “Our role is to ensure that deployments are implemented effectively, responsibly and with the framework of the law,” said Phala. He claimed previous fears of force readiness had been alleviated and said there was “now greater coordination” between the police and the army. As the other chairs would state, he believed that the operation required definitive timelines and a larger solution. “It is equally important that clear exit strategies are developed and that a long-term response to crime also includes stronger socio-economic interventions.” Police committee unhappy with lack of info Police portfolio committee chair Ian Cameron reiterated that, while the SANDF deployment was a short- to medium-term intervention, it could not be seen as a long-term strategy. “We must all understand that this has the risk of being a plaster being stuck on a wound that needs surgery,” he said. Cameron noted the inherent differences between soldiers and police were already causing friction, based on reports he had received from Randfontien. Soldiers and police allegedly argued over the number of generators confiscated from an illegal mining operation, as well as the police taking two hours to arrest suspects detained by soldiers. He stressed that the “lethargic” manner in which the police and the SANDF prepared for the operation remained a concern, as did the way committee suggestions were ignored. Cameron lamented that operational details, command-and-control structures, accountability mechanisms, success metrics, and training procedures had still not been provided. “These are not just minor details that we can ignore; they go to the heart of how force is exercised in a democratic country,” he stated. Police moonlighting as taxi owners While success may be achieved by the SANDF, Cameron said communities deserved sustainable solutions, as his observations had revealed that they were deeply troubled. “It’s almost as though, even some of the children, have been exposed to so much violence that many people have become desensitised. And others really struggle with trauma,” he said. Addressing crime, Cameron explained, would take more than boots on the ground, but solving “the deeper structural problems”. Cameron found in recent weeks that multiple police officers in the Western Cape were simultaneously taxi owners, with one sergeant even owning a taxi and a tow-truck company. “If taxi violence is to be addressed meaningfully, we must confront not only the symptoms but the structural drivers of the conflict. Other concerns were rogue private security members and the lack of rape kits available at police stations. “It cannot be that with GBV being declared a national disaster by the president, it is not taken seriously at ground level,” Cameron said. ‘South Africans are afraid’ Dakota Legoete, chair of the defence portfolio committee, agreed that deployment cannot be a long- term solution, but said a more aggressive approach needed to be adopted. “This is something that needs force and a force multiplier to ensure that we defend our people, because South Africans are afraid.” Legoete reminded the panel that 26 000 people died every year at the hands of criminals, noting that the daily rate of death exceeded that of warzones. He said too often South Africa took a humanitarian approach, but “we forget that 26 000 people have ceased to exist and to live”. He said the number reflected a “low-key civil war” and that leaving the matter to the police alone was no longer effective. “Now, the time for dilly-dallying, the time for blaming, it’s over. We have a common enemy, and we are all under a common threat.” “Any economy that cannot defend its investment, its people, its assets, will not get new investment, because security is the reason why other economies in the world are thriving,” Legoete said. NOW READ: SANDF chief clarifies comment that soldiers will enforce the law ‘by any means possible’