President Cyril Ramaphosa has written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thandi Modise and the Speaker of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Amos Masondo, regarding the employment of an additional 73 180 National Defence Force (SANDF) members to support the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Both Speakers have received the letters from the President.
Ramaphosa is obliged by the Constitution to inform Parliament of all deployments of the military. The letter has been published in Parliament’s official papers, the Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports (ATC).
Ramaphosa authorised the employment of 2 820 in March to enforce the nationwide lockdown.
The President says the additional SANDF members will help the currently deployed soldiers as well as the police to maintain law and order, assist government departments and ensure order at South African borders.
The additional employment will come at a cost of R4.5 million.
President Ramaphosa in March deployed 2 820 soldiers for the national lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19:
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said on Wednesday that the employment of the initial 2 800 SANDF members is not enough.
“We now realise the magnitude of the challenge and what seen in other countries on TV every day. The chief of defence force then decided better to put all on standby. Already for the 2 800, exhaustion was setting in. at the time, it was sufficient but looking now nature of challenge, it is clear we need a bigger number.”
She said deploying more SANDF personnel, will be justified when the pandemic reaches its peak.
“We are aware of the capacity in mortuaries. We believe SA, like all other countries, may see an escalation of death rate as the exponential curve goes up as likely to see August-September, people may lose lives. In this event, SANDF may be expected to remove bodies and bury bodies. We are ready for any eventuality.”
