Ramaphosa authorises 73,000 more troops, but it doesn’t mean all will be deployed
A letter to the joint standing committee on defence suggests that there will be a gigantic deployment of troops on to South African streets until 26 June.
President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses SA National Defence Force (SANDF) members before their deployment ahead of the national Covid-19 shutdown, Pretoria, 26 March 2020. Picture: GCIS
President Cyril Ramaphosa dropped a bombshell last night behind the scenes of his Covid-19 relief package when a letter emerged of him authorising the deployment of the entire South African Nation Defence Force (SANDF), including the auxiliary force and reserve force, for an additional 73,180 members of the SANDF to hit SA’s streets, adding to the 2,280 members already deployed.
This unprecedented move would come at a cost of more than R4.5 billion, around 10% of the SANDF budget, according to director at African Defence Review and defence expert Darren Olivier.
Olivier estimated there were about 8,200 air force, 34,000 army, 5,200 military health, and 5,700 navy personnel, plus 20,000 reservists – of whom not all are deployable – as well as a few hundred auxiliaries.
Ramaphosa said in his letter the “employment of the additional members is for the period 2 April 2020 to 26 June 2020”.
Olivier noted that “Letters of Employment” do not have to specify the exact number of troops deployed, it’s just the upper bound that is authorised.
“So, this effectively means that Operation Notlela is authorised to use pretty much the entire uniformed strength of the SANDF, not that it automatically will,” Olivier said.
According to defenceWeb, “the SAAF has positioned aircraft for use by various Joint Tactical Headquarters in different provinces, under the operational command and control of the Joint Operations Division”, while the SAS Makhanda was most recently deployed.
To be clear, the President employs the SANDF, while the SANDF deploys its resources, including personnel.
The letter from Ramaphosa to Cyril Xaba, co-chairperson of the joint standing committee on defence, was verified as real.
“The joint Standing Committee on Defence will tomorrow (Wednesday) hold a virtual meeting to consider the letter from the President on the Employment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in terms Section 201 (4) of the Constitution regarding the reasons, place, number of soldiers as well as the period of employment in the fight against the spread of the Covid-19 virus,” the committee said in a statement last night.
I have requested the presidency to urgently confirm this information. https://t.co/hOBFs5qOMQ
— John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) April 21, 2020
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