Over 450 Soldiers Deployed to Combat Illegal Mining in Gauteng

By Staff, Agencies

More than 450 soldiers have been deployed to South Africa’s Gauteng province to combat rising illegal mining and gang violence, provincial Premier Panyaza Lesufi confirmed on Monday.

Lesufi made the announcement during the State of the Province Address (SOPA) at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.

Earlier this month, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) would be deployed to Gauteng to assist law enforcement in tackling illegal miners, locally known as zama zamas.

The move followed the forced displacement of more than 600 people from the Sporong informal settlement in the West Rand by illegal miners.

Lesufi said the army has acombalready been deployed to Sporong and other identified illegal mining hotspots.

“Madam Speaker, illegal mining has reached intolerable levels in our province. Over 600 families have been targeted, and we see these attacks occurring across the province,” he said.

He added that the perpetrators are heavily armed and threaten women and children. “In some instances, residents have fled their homes due to violent attacks and threats.

The ongoing illegal mining affects communities in West End, Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg and the Silibenk District.”

“Dangerous syndicates use high-caliber weapons, including AK-47s, to take over illegal mining sites,” Lesufi said, adding that the government aims to put a stop to what he described as terror.

“We welcome the decisions taken by the President, and I want to announce that we have allocated over 450 soldiers to assist us in stamping out illegal mining and rising gang violence in our province.

“We urge the President to keep these soldiers for a long period so that our communities can be safe.”

Acting Police Minister Professor Firoz Cachalia confirmed that the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service and the Chief of the SANDF have finalized a deployment plan set to begin within 10 days, now including the Eastern Cape.

Cachalia made the announcement during a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces last week, where lawmakers debated Ramaphosa’s recent State of the Nation Address (SONA).

He praised the SANDF deployment to Gauteng and the Western Cape to assist in combating organized crime and illegal mining and confirmed that the operation would extend to the Eastern Cape.