President Cyril Ramaphosa formally communicated to Parliament on April 22 that he was massively increasing the number of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) personnel undertaking services in support of national efforts to counter the Covid-19 pandemic. The communication was in the form of letters to National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise and National Council of Provinces Chairperson Amos Masondo.

On March 25, President Ramaphosa ordered 2 820 SANDF personnel deployed for anti-Covid-19 support activities. These have now been reinforced by an additional 73 180 personnel. 

They will mainly be deployed in support of the South African Police Service, and in all nine provinces, to support law and order and maintain border security. These deployments are being undertaken in accordance with Section 201(2) of the 1996 Constitution of South Africa and Section 18(1) of the 2002 Defence Act. The deployment of these personnel is expected to cost R4 590 393 940.00.

In its response to the President’s decision, Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence expressed unanimous support for the new deployments. It expressed satisfaction with the reasons given by Ramaphosa for his action.

“Of critical importance is the deployment of the South African Military Health Services and its capabilities, which is necessary to support the Department of Health when considering the trajectory of infections expected as per research by experts,” highlighted committee co-chairperson Cyril Xaba. The committee recognised that the deployment was large and the cost was “huge”, but considered it was necessary, given the unprecedented nature of the pandemic and the required scale of the response.

However, the committee also expressed concern about scattered allegations of abuse of power by some SANDF members. It cautioned that these allegations could damage the legitimacy of the SANDF’s involvement in anti-Covid-19 efforts. It called upon all SANDF personnel to comply with the law and with the SANDF Code of Conduct.

It expressed confidence in the ability of the Military Ombud to investigate and deal with these allegations. The committee would await the conclusion of these enquiries before analysing them.

It also called upon all South Africans to comply with regulations (regarding Covid-19), which would minimise their interaction with security personnel. It further condemned the circulation of fake videos that seemed intended to damage the image and legitimacy of the SANDF and hoped that those responsible would be prosecuted under the emergency regulations.

So far, two soldiers have died while assigned to anti-Covid-19 support activities. “We would like to express our condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers,” stressed Xaba. “We hope that the families of these heroes find solace in the knowledge that they died in the line of duty protecting the lives of South Africans.”