Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Appropriations, Dr Mmusi Maimane, has said that while calling for the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is a very popular thing to say, it is not a fundamental solution to the crime crisis in the country.
His remarks came during a briefing held by chairpersons of Parliament’s Finance Cluster Committee on Monday, where he discussed the expenditure on crime and debt management.
During his budget tabling, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that R1 billion each will be allocated to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the SANDF to fight organised crime in the country through the Criminal Assets Recovery Account (CARA) fund.
He added that spending on peace and security - which includes police services, defence and state security, law courts and prisons, and home affairs - increases from R268.2 billion in 2025/26 to R291.2 billion in 2028/29.
The minister also explained that while the current cost of the SANDF deployment is unknown, he deduced that it would be funded through Section 16 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), which governs the use of funds in emergency situations.
Portfolio Committee on Police will be briefed by SAPS on the deployment of the SANDF in support of SAPS operations, including deployment to the Western Cape, Gauteng and Eastern Cape.
Maimane said that no one is going to invest in an economy that is unsafe, and it is important to acknowledge the R1 billion rand investment into crime and helping with police.
“But I want to argue strongly. I know it's a very popular thing to say, ‘send the army, send the army, send the army.’ But what the army doesn't do is, it doesn't police murder, and I want that point to sink in.
“Because ultimately, all the army can do is tactically give the police an opportunity to be able to catch up. But it isn't a fundamental solution to addressing the fact that 74 South Africans are being murdered every day in the last quarter.
“It doesn't address the fact that conviction rates, as far as murder convictions are concerned, are one in five. We will be looking at Budget allocation, and increasing the number of headcounts and police, making sure that we can employ more detectives, and ultimately make sure South Africa is a safe place to invest in,” Maimane said.
He also added that there is no denial about the fact that the doctor-to-patient ratio needs to be improved, and that what happened at Tembisa Hospital is an insult.
“When people loot resources at a hospital, and it seems like there's a continuation, when I went to hospitals like Frere Hospital (in the Eastern Cape), there seem to be some genuine challenges in the healthcare sector. Every rent that is spent must deliver value.
“Therefore, those who are stealing resources from people are actually putting citizens' lives at risk.
“Talk about the social wage all you like, the fact is, a citizen who goes to Tembisa and cannot find oxygen, and cannot find a bed. People don't prefer to sleep on the floor because they feel like it,” Maimane said.
“The fact of the matter is that when the hospital hasn’t invested in those beds, the harsh reality and the consequence of that issue means that ultimately, citizens are being put at absolute risk.”
Maimane added that there is also a need for investment in infrastructure that builds libraries, and infrastructure that ensures maths and science are available for young South Africans, “because if we fail at that task, it means that our young people…but they become further unemployable. And secondly, they have no capability of being able to go further into tertiary education, and compete with citizens from all over the world”.
*This article was first published by IOL News
