JANE MANANISO

The parliamentary committees on the safety and security cluster have deliberated on the deployment of soldiers to police crime. This was after President Cyril Ramaphosa, during his annual State of the Nation Address, committed to approving the deployment of 2,200 soldiers at a cost of about R800m.

In line with their constitutionally mandated responsibilities, the committees will assess whether the correct things are being done. On top of this item is the tabling of a clear operational strategy that ought to spell out the nuances of such deployments.

The committees were unanimous that there is a need for the deployment. Too many South Africans, black and white, poor and rich, have suffered at the hands of criminals. The thugs have now even started targeting the police, precisely because they need to instill fear not only in the streets and victims but also in the government.

It seems these actions are meant to undermine what the government is doing and to frustrate the development of SA and our people.

When ambulances get hijacked, clinics and schools get shut by extortionists; when projects are stalled, uniformed police are killed, and when drugs are peddled openly and witnesses are killed inside courtrooms, that is an invitation for any responsible state to act and push back.

When poor people are chased out of their dwellings by criminal elements and zama-zamas (illegal miners), that is no less of an invitation for the state.

The restoration of trust and state authority is of the utmost importance for our citizens.

For a long time we have been concerned about gang violence in the Western Cape and other provinces, as well as illegal mining. Ramaphosa’s announcement is a direct response to calls from the communities themselves to deploy the SANDF to the Western Cape and Gauteng to support SAPS in fighting gang violence and illegal mining.

This deployment has now been extended to other provinces, including the Free State and the North West. It will ensure the restoration of peace to troubled and violated communities.

Our police have for too long become victims of unbridled criminals while they have had to observe legislative requirements instead of dealing aggressively with crime and criminals carrying high-calibre weapons.

The parliamentary committees emphasised the importance of cooperation, collaboration and partnership between all law enforcement agencies, including community policing forums, to combat crime.

Gang violence directly affects our children, many of whom are recruited by gangsters and fed drugs and end up not attending school. This is devastating to families.

To deal with this problem, we need a multi-sectoral approach involving communities, law enforcement agencies and the SANDF.

Firearms remain the dominant weapon in murders, which stood at 2,561 in the third quarter of 2025/26 and account for 40% of all crimes. Firearm-related murders are concentrated in Gauteng at 668, the Western Cape with 644 and KwaZulu-Natal with 612. These are the figures the soldiers need to push back on.

We need the SAPS to do more in respect of removing and destroying illegal firearms because every illegal firearm removed from communities reduces the chances for a murder, robbery and gender-based violence.

All efforts to fight organised crime, gangsterism and the ownership of illegal firearms require a proper legislative and regulatory framework as well as sufficient resources and skills.

The committees will be responsive to the needs of the citizens in the provinces we serve by ensuring oversight and accountability over all the departments within the justice and crime prevention cluster.

The soldiers will help the state in pushing back against criminals. SA will not fail on account of murderous thugs who terrorise our communities.