The Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) has expressed concern over the lack of compliance in a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) deployment, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently table the SANDF letters of employment for the combating of gang-related crime.

Last month, Ramaphosa announced the deployment of the SANDF to support the South African Police Service (Saps) in tackling gang violence and illegal mining in the Western Cape, Gauteng and Eastern Cape.

Ramaphosa said he directed Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and the SANDF to develop a tactical plan on where security forces should be deployed in the Western Cape and Gauteng to deal with gang violence and illegal mining.

The HSF called on government to urgently clarify operational safeguards, and oversight mechanisms governing the deployment to ensure full compliance with the law and to prevent any abuses of power.

The foundation and the DA said they were alarmed by the lack of compliance with legislative provisions governing the deployment of SANDF in cooperation with the Saps.

The HSF pointed out that Minister of Defence Angie Motshekga failed to issue a notice in the Government Gazette within 24 hours of Presidential authorisation as required by the Defence Act.

Ramaphosa has said, as required by the Constitution, that he will inform the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces regarding “the timing and place of deployment of the soldiers and what it will cost”.

“The Presidential Minute rather confusingly shows a deployment starting date of 30 January 2026. Even if this is a typographical error, it is worrying in a document of such import and should be corrected,” said the HSF.

The HSF pointed out that as to compliance with the legislative requirement for training of SANDF members before deployment in support of the Saps, it is worrying to note that on March 4, Cachalia stated that the deployment of SANDF in Gauteng would take longer than initially anticipated after a gang-related violence incident.

He stated that the soldiers would first need to receive appropriate training to understand their limitation of power in engagement with civilians.

The organisation highlighted that in a country with a painful history of military and police brutality, including in 2020 with the torture and death of Collins Khosa in Alexandra, Johannesburg, it was imperative that training was adequately and appropriately completed.

Meanwhile, the DA is demanding urgent clarity from Ramaphosa as to why the letters of employment for the SANDF deployments announced during his State of the Nation Address, particularly those relating to gang violence in Gauteng, the Western Cape and Nelson Mandela Bay, have still not been tabled before the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.

DA National Council of Provinces Member on Security and Justice Nicholas Gotsell said Parliament only on Monday received a letter authorising an SANDF deployment to combat illegal mining in Gauteng under Operation Prosper, even though the deployment began on January 30 and will end on April 30.

“This means Parliament was informed 38 days after troops were promised to be deployed. Whilst the DA welcomes the deployment, it is concerned by the apparent lack of constitutional compliance - particularly when R80-million is made available for a deployment that is almost at its end,” he explained.

The party noted that when notification occurs more than a month after the fact, Parliament’s ability to meaningfully exercise its oversight powers is significantly undermined.

“The decision to employ the SANDF should already have been informed by consultations with Saps, the SANDF Chief and relevant national security structures. Yet the absence of the employment letters for the gang-related deployments, combined with the clear lack of preparedness displayed by the Department of Defence (DoD) and Saps during last week’s Joint Standing Committee meetings, raises serious concerns about the President’s original announcement,” explained Gotsell.

He said these concerns were compounded by the DoD’s financial position.

“During last week’s committee meeting, the Secretary for Defence confirmed that the Department does not currently have the funds required for the newly announced deployments, which are estimated to cost R823-million,” he explained.