South Africa will deploy soldiers for up to a year to assist police in tackling escalating organised crime and illegal mining, according to a mission plan tabled before Parliament of South Africa on Wednesday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the intervention last month, describing organised crime as the country’s most immediate threat to democracy and economic growth.
Under the plan, members of the South African National Defence Force will be deployed to five of the country’s nine provinces, including the Western Cape, which includes Cape Town and surrounding areas long affected by gang-related violence.
The operation is expected to begin later this month and will run until 31 March next year. However, officials said no troops have yet been deployed, with mission-readiness training and the establishment of a joint command structure still under way.
Major General Mark Hankel told lawmakers the process would take time. “It does take time. It’s not something that happens immediately or overnight,” he said.
The deployment has drawn criticism from some experts and opposition parties, who argue that soldiers are not trained for policing duties and warn that the costly move highlights weaknesses within the South African Police Service.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia defended the decision, saying the military’s presence would create space for the rollout of a broader strategy against organised crime.
“The deployment of the South African National Defence Force is not being presented as a panacea, as a magic bullet,” he said. “One way to think about this is that this country is in its FBI moment. We need a new paradigm.”
South Africa continues to battle high levels of violence, with an average of about 60 murders recorded daily. Crime hotspots are further strained by illegal mining operations, where thousands of miners — often controlled by gangs — scour abandoned shafts for leftover gold, particularly in Gauteng, home to Johannesburg.
The government has previously turned to the military during periods of unrest, including enforcing Covid-19 lockdowns, responding to the 2021 riots following the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma, and quelling other security flare-ups.
While authorities say the latest deployment is aimed at stabilising crime-affected communities, debate continues over whether boots on the ground will translate into safer streets or simply heavier ones.