Post a two-committee oversight visit on Friday 14 August to parts of the Cape Town metro to see how the joint military and police anti-crime deployment is unfolding, differing opinions surfaced.
On one side, African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament (MP) Phiroane Phala – who chairs Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) – maintains a lack of co-ordination between the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) and SA Police Service (SAPS) – “perceived or otherwise is concerning”.
According to a Parliamentary Communication Services (PCS) statement issued by the JSCD and Portfolio Committee on Police (PCP) after the visit, PCP chair Ian Cameron of the Democratic Alliance (DA) repeated “concern” as regards what he is quoted as calling “the disconnect” between the SANDF and the SAPS. “SANDF members told us that they sometimes experience reluctance or a lack of urgency from SAPS members when it comes to identifying criminal strongholds. We need the two services to work together and share intelligence effectively,” the statement has him saying.
On the other side, metaphorically, were ActionSA MP, PCP member and her party’s preferred mayoral candidate for the Cape Town metro Dereleen James along with Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) public representative Carl Niehaus, who sits on the JSCD and the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCDMV).
Quoting James, an ActionSA statement has it the oversight visit “exposed serious operational failures” in the current Operation Prosper deployment.
“SANDF members indicated that the focus of operations has been placed on tuckshops and shebeens, rather than targeting drugs, gangsters and organised criminal networks,” it reads, adding “this comes amid serious concerns raised by soldiers about inadequate resources, vehicle delays, poor co-ordination and a lack of intelligence required to conduct effective operations”.
She, like Cameron and Phala, also uses “concern” as regards allegations SANDF members, in all probability soldiers deployed to support police, are not being taken into areas where known criminals and gang members operate.
“Soldiers further indicated operations are too often limited to stop-and-search activities, rather than targeted operations based on intelligence and aimed at disrupting organised criminal networks.
“The concerns raised by SANDF members include alleged victimisation when they speak out about the challenges they face. This is unacceptable. Soldiers deployed to protect communities must be properly supported and must be able to raise operational concerns without fear of reprisal,” the statement reads further before noting the visit “raised serious questions” about overall co-ordination as well as whether soldier deployment is used effectively.
The Niehaus reaction to the visit was along similar lines only more strongly worded. Apart from identified Cape Flat hotspots where MPs donned helmets and protective vests, the visit saw the group at Air Force Base (AFB) Ysterplaat to inspect accommodation and be briefed.
“What we encountered was deeply disturbing” his social media comment has as an introduction continuing “successes remain limited and far from consequential” five months into the deployment.
“Arrests and seizures are taking place, yet the high levels of violence and murder on the Cape Flats continue almost unabated. Hundreds of people are still being killed every quarter in the Western Cape. In some weeks more than 100 lives have been lost. Mass shootings persist in the very areas we visited. It was the clear intention that Operation Prosper would put a stop to this terrible situation. Up to now it has apparently failed to do so.”
Niehaus noted that in the first quarter of 2026, 983 people were murdered in the Western Cape, with gang-related killings accounting for about a quarter of these deaths, the majority occurring on the Cape Flats.
“The continued high death toll on the Cape Flats stands as a stark reminder that operational activity is not the same as strategic success. Arrests and seizures, important as they are, have not yet translated into a sustained reduction in the violence that continues to claim lives at an alarming rate,” Niehaus said.
The failure of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s National Treasury (NT) to ensure the R823 million plus allocated for the 12-month deployment had not – by the end of July – been deposited in a Department of Defence (DoD) account was termed “shocking” and “unacceptable”.
“The consequences are practical and immediate: constraints on equipment, vehicles and logistical support, pressure on living conditions, and a sense among deployed members that the state is not matching its operational demands with the necessary resources. It is simply unacceptable that soldiers who are required to place their lives at risk in support of a critical internal security operation should have to do so while the financial and material support promised for that operation remains incomplete,” Niehaus said.
This Operation Prosper activation, as per Niehaus, “must deliver real results, or the constitutional limits of military involvement in internal security will be breached”. He called for better coordination between the SANDF and police, deployment of SAPS members from outside the Cape Flats to counter intimidation, the immediate release of funds allocated to the SANDF for its participation, improved living conditions for deployed personnel, and strengthening of the Anti-Gang Unit and Tactical Response Team.
While the EFF supports the deployment of the SANDF, it demands a defined end-state that ensures the SANDF returns to barracks and leaves behind a police service capable of performing its constitutional mandate without permanent military support.
Operation Prosper, Niehaus warned, must not become the new normal. “The EFF will not stand for the perpetual continuation or repeated rollover of Defence Force deployment for internal policing purposes. That would be an aberration of the constitutional design and a long-term threat to both the effectiveness of the police and the proper role of the military.”
He also decried the living conditions of soldiers, something also raised by the JSCD and PCP, whose members expressed concern about the conditions faced by deployed soldiers.
During their Air Force Base Ysterplaat visit, committee members learned that there were SANDF personnel who had to buy basic supplies that should have been provided by the defence force as well as experiencing delays in receiving their allowances.
“Members of the committee acknowledged that the SANDF continues to face funding constraints including challenges in securing funding for deployments with the Department of Defence receiving funding for deployments months later,” they said in their statement.
Cameron also raised concerns about the conditions faced by soldiers, including the lack of proper storage facilities for their equipment. “Despite these challenges, the soldiers remain willing to work and make the operation a success. We commend them for their bravery, commitment and dedication,” he said.
“We acknowledge the hard work and commitment of the members deployed on the ground. We also recognise the sacrifices they make, often while working with limited support and resources. Despite these challenges, they continue to serve their communities and the country with dedication, and that commitment must be recognised and supported,” Cameron added.
“We have been to many bases as committees, and many men and women in uniform have told us about their challenges. We are confident that we can do more to support them as they serve the country,” said Phala.
Members of the Community Policing Forum (CPF) present at the oversight raised their concerns about what would happen to residents of Mitchells Plain once the SANDF deployment ends. They called for a clear plan to ensure that gains made during the operation are sustained. The CPF welcomed the impact of Operation Prosper particularly the drug-related arrests and seizures, but called for more action to recover illegal firearms used to terrorise communities in Mitchells Plain.
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