DURBAN - WHILE political parties deliberate about the R615 million deployment of the SANDF to KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, the Joint Standing Committee on Defence will visit the provinces on Tuesday.
Following a week of looting and violence 25 000 soldiers have been deployed to assist police on the ground in both provinces until August 12. The committee is expected to assess the rollout of Operation Prosper and the impact it is having.
Committee co-chairperson Cyril Xaba called for coherence in characterising what led to the violence. The committee believes the intelligence community must play a critical role in understanding and characterising the violence. “This will assist in planning and counteracting similar future disturbances. The SANDF is projecting spending about R615m on this project. It is critical there is clarity and coherence on what this budget is spent on and what resources are necessary to prevent any future flare-ups,” said Xaba. The committee said 21 525 SANDF personnel had been deployed by Sunday.
Xaba said more units were on standby in provinces that have not experienced protest action so that deployments are pro-actively positioned when the need arises. The committee highlighted the need to consider designating the N3 highway and other major arteries as critical infrastructure to enable better protection of these roads.
“The committee is cognisant of the recurring nature of disruptions on the N3. It impacts the economy, especially on the movement of goods from Durban harbour to inland provinces and the rest of Africa.”
The IFP appreciated that the SANDF had been deployed, despite it being at this late stage. IFP chief whip in Parliament Narend Singh said they had taken note of the costs of the deployment and would interrogate these in the relevant portfolio committee once Parliament resumes. “It is a welcome sight to see them in and around KwaZulu-Natal and their presence offers residents a sense of comfort. We further understand that a deployment of 25 000 SANDF personnel would not just be 25 000 soldiers, but that medical officers, logistics personnel and others would be included in this number,” Singh said.
AfriForum spokesperson Jacques Broodryk said had the police and intelligence services acted pro-actively and did their basic jobs it would not have been necessary to deploy the soldiers.
“The fee will be carried by the taxpayer. Billions of rand of damages could have been prevented if the basics were done,” he said.
DA spokesperson for Defence and Military Veterans MP Kobus Marais said the economic loss and the potential further exponential loss to the economy is outweighing the R615m cost by far. He said there must be full accountability of the money spent.
“No corruption must come from this. We require additional funding for this deployment specifically. We cannot allow the steal from Peter to pay Paul approach when the SANDF has been expected to fund unfunded projects and mandates.”
Daily News