Defence and Military Veterans Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, says the President will only declare a State of Emergency when the need arises.<\/p>\n
While the Minister strongly condemned the current looting and damage to infrastructure, she did not believe the situation warrants a State of Emergency.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor now, I don\u2019t think there is an indication that there should be a State of Emergency,\u201d she said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Mapisa-Nqakula was speaking during a briefing by Ministers in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster amid public violence flare-ups in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the time comes, informed by intelligence gathered and coordinated by the three entities [SAPS, Defence and State Security], the President will be advised and [only] then would he declare a State of Emergency, if the need arises, based on that assessment report.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Minister acknowledged that the situation is grave, and the nation is duly panicked.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 We\u2019re all concerned about what is happening\u2026 A\u2026 State of Emergency [however means that]\u2026 you take all the liberties from the citizens and the military takes over the country. For now, we don\u2019t think we\u2019ve reached that point,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
As the Commander-in-Chief of the South African Defence Force (SANDF), the President has deployed the army in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in support of the operations of the South African Police Service (SAPS).<\/p>\n
Mapisa-Nqakula said the number of soldiers mobilised is far less than those who were deployed during the COVID-19 hard lockdown.<\/p>\n
She said an ongoing assessment is taking place behind closed doors to make decisions about the number of soldiers who will be deployed on the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we talk numbers, we also have to talk possible expenditure incurred for the deployment of those people… We\u2019re informed by intelligence, and then [we will] decide about what kind of strength we need for deployment, and then we will make an announcement.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deployment of soldiers<\/p>\n
Major General Siphiwe Lucky Sangweni said the SANDF conducts deployment operations inside the country in support of the SAPS and to assist other State departments.<\/p>\n
\u201cSAPS and other law enforcement agencies will conduct their work and when there is a situation that requires or warrants that the military assists and supports as the security cluster, then the call will be made then,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
According to Sangweni, this involves conducting assessments and then the decision is sanctioned by the President.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the President that will authorise the deployment of military internal operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will not be correct that the military is at the forefront in terms of law enforcement and dealing with criminality in the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Source: South African Government News Agency<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Defence and Military Veterans Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, says the President will only declare a State of Emergency when the need arises.While the Minister strongly condemned the current looting and damage to infrastructure, she did not believe …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n