A recent letter from President Cyril Ramaphosa has revealed that 2 122 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members have been deployed to the streets of South Africa from December 29, 2020 until January 31, 2021 to enforce Covid-19 restrictions, at a cost of R95 666 944.

Ramaphosa wrote to the Joint Standing Committee on Defence on January 8, informing Parliament of the SANDF deployment, as per Section 201 (3) and (4) of the Constitution. 

The committee’s co-chairperson Cyril Xaba said in a statement, on Tuesday, that the deployment supports government departments in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and preserving lives.

“It is intended to preserve life, health and property in emergency or humanitarian relief operations in support of other government departments and in cooperation with the South African Police Service, to prevent crime and enforce restrictions under the adjusted Level 3 lockdown regulations,” he said.

The Joint Standing Committee on Defence reinforced its support for efforts that safeguard the lives of South Africans during the pandemic.

Further, SANDF members have been deployed on other missions, including 200 SANDF personnel on maritime patrol mission in the Mozambique Channel, 1 165 soldiers on peacekeeping efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 15 companies – known as Operation Corona – safeguarding South Africa’s border line in the wake of the closure of 20 ports of entry.