Eastern Cape police and the South African National Defence Force will meet on Friday to discuss the deployment of the army to the province, with the first boots on the ground expected on April 1.
This is according to the police’s acting provincial commissioner ,Thandiswa Kupiso.
She said she would have more details after the meeting.
“I will only be able to comment after the meeting with the SANDF, and only after that, I will be in a position to say for sure when they will be deployed.”
With only 11 days left in March, the army has still not arrived in Nelson Mandela Bay, despite President Cyril Ramaphosa’s promise to deploy soldiers to high-crime and gang-affected areas before March 31.
Police officers in the city have previously welcomed the decision but also requested more resources.
Gauteng has seen boots on the ground with the deployment of 550 soldiers on March 11.
Efforts to obtain more clarity this week were met with deflection and silence, as spokespeople and politicians repeatedly redirected queries or failed to respond.
In his state of the nation address in February, Ramaphosa committed to deploying the army to assist the police in Gauteng and Western Cape crime hot spots.
However, he made no mention of the Eastern Cape, which faces crime challenges similar to those in the other two provinces.
Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane then joined the call for Ramaphosa to send the army to the province, particularly in the Bay’s northern areas.
Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia later announced that a deployment plan had been finalised and would include the Eastern Cape.
A presidential statement said the army deployment was part of a co-ordinated security intervention to stabilise communities and disrupt criminal syndicates.
More provinces have now been added to the deployment, with troops set to operate in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng, North West and Free State — targeting illegal mining inland and gangsterism and violent crime in the coastal provinces.
Meanwhile, DA MPL Yusuf Cassim tabled a statement in the legislature during the state of the province debate on March 3.
He welcomed the decision to deploy soldiers into the northern areas, but questioned the implementation.
“As I stand here today, the residents of the Eastern Cape still do not know the confirmed start date of deployment, the scope of the operation, the number of troops to be deployed, the duration of their presence, or the measurable objectives that will define success.
“If the plan was finalised on February 17, why has this house not been furnished with the operational details?
“Resolutions adopted by this house last year, including measures to strengthen the anti-gang unit and improve co-ordination through a permanent joint operations centre in Nelson Mandela Bay, remain unimplemented.
“Military deployment alone will not root out gangsterism.
“Soldiers can stabilise a situation, but they cannot replace effective policing, functional crime intelligence or a properly capacitated justice system.”
Transport and community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha responded to Cassim’s statements.
“Details of dates can be provided, and the numbers can be provided once they are available, but other details cannot be provided because they can be considered a security risk.
“The province has a provincial safety strategy, which we are implementing to fight crime.
“We have an anti-gang unit which is in place, we have a co-operation agreement which is in place in Nelson Mandela Bay, which is working.
“We have got a joint operation centre there.”
Helenvale Development Forum chair Desira Davids said that bringing the army into the northern areas was not a long-term sustainable solution.
“The fact that the army is not even here yet confirms that [it is not a long-term solution].
“This is just an electioneering tool to score political brownie points because if the government were serious, they would have made efforts to address the issue of gangsterism in our communities long ago.
“In my opinion, I don’t take the promises of the president [to deploy the SANDF] seriously, and I don’t actually think they will deliver.
“The Eastern Cape was not included in his address when he made the promise of deploying the army.
“It was only added after the fact, so I don’t think they are serious.”
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