While various organisations and people responded positively to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement to add more police and introduce the army, to fight illegal mining and tackle gang infested areas in the Western Cape and Gauteng, one organisation is opposed.
Panyaza Lesufi, Premier of Gauteng, said the deployment is both decisive and necessary, to confront the growing threat posed by illegal mining.
Geordin Hill Lewis, Mayor of Cape Town, said “we welcome the President’s army deployment to stem gang violence. SAPS is overwhelmed…”
But Sabelo Mnguni, Spokesperson of the trade union- Mining Affected Communities (MACUA) said their position is not anti-security, but “anti-militarisation without accountability.”
Explaining this in detail, Mnguni said “we recognize that communities have the right to safety and protection from violence. However, the deployment of soldiers cannot become a substitute for addressing the underlying political and economic failures that produce instability in the first place.”
Mnguni also said interventions must be lawful, proportionate, and time-bound.
“Military deployment in civilian spaces is an extraordinary measure and must not become normalised.”
Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, Commissioner of the police in KwaZulu Natal, also said there is no need to deploy the army, saying the move sends the wrong message about the police.
Picture: Getty Images