The Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety has welcomed the deployment of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers to the province to support police in the fight against illegal mining.
The deployment was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the State of the Nation Address in Cape Town last week.
“This firm intervention…underscores the gravity of the crisis and the urgent necessity for a coordinated, robust response to dismantle highly organised criminal syndicates that have terrorised communities and undermined the rule of law,” the committee said in a statement.
The committee noted that it has consistently “raised concerns about the devastating impact of illegal mining” in the province.
“During a recent unannounced oversight visit to the Bekkersdal Police Station, the committee received deeply disturbing reports of zama zamas [illegal miners] intimidating residents, perpetrating violent crimes and holding entire communities hostage through fear and lawlessness.
“Equally alarming are reports that more than 600 families were allegedly forced to flee their homes in Randfontein as a result of escalating violence linked to illegal mining activities, with displaced residents compelled to seek refuge in community halls.
“The committee reiterates that illegal mining is not a minor or isolated offence. It is an entrenched, organised criminal enterprise that endangers lives, destroys infrastructure, destabilises communities and erodes public confidence in the state’s ability to protect its citizens,” the statement said.
The committee said a "more aggressive, integrated, multi-agency approach is required to decisively confront and eradicate this criminal menace”.
“In this regard, the deployment of the SANDF represents a critical and long-overdue intervention - one that the committee has repeatedly recommended.
“The committee is confident that this decisive action will significantly strengthen law-enforcement operations, restore safety and stability in affected areas as well as send a clear and unequivocal message that criminality will not be tolerated in Gauteng.
“The [committee] will closely monitor the implementation and impact of the SANDF deployment and remains committed to working with all spheres of government to ensure that Gauteng is decisively reclaimed from illegal mining and that communities are able to live free from fear, violence and intimidation,” the statement concluded. – SAnews.gov.za
