Marion Edmunds
The Department of Defence wants to cut the army’s crucial crime-fighting activities, claiming its thinning resources should be concentrated on reshaping the defence force.
Officials say the military cannot sustain its support for the police – which costs it around R1,2-billion a year – and its funds should be spent instead on strengthening its capacity as a defence and regional peace- keeping force.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) relies heavily on army back-up, with troops deployed in hotspots such as the Cape Flats and KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. The defence force is also involved in daily crime- fighting.
But the department says the military faces severe funding cuts – which will force it to cut personnel from 98 000 to 70 000 from early next year.
Defence officials are seeking talks with Safety and Security Minister Sydney Mufamadi to discuss the withdrawal.
An internal defence department report says these discussions will include transferring crime-fighting troops such as the Commando troops to the SAPS, and they would then be funded from the safety and security budget.
Says the department’s chief of policy and planning, Aboobaker Ismail, in the report: “The defence force is bound to assist the SAPS in the restoration of law and order. But the defence department did not envisage a continuously high level of daily support to the police.”
SAPS divisional commissioner Andre Pruis, who is responsible for police operations, says the military’s withdrawal from crime- fighting would be a major blow.
“It serves as a force multiplier,” he says. “It is absolutely necessary to have them because there are not enough police members available to do the work.”