Dereleen James during a session of the parliamentary portfolio committee on police on Wednesday. (Photo: Screengrab)
A complete failure.
A big disappointment.
This is what Dereleen James, ActionSA MP, said on Wednesday during a session of the parliamentary portfolio committee on police about the army’s deployment on the Cape Flats.
James told gen. Puleng Dimpane, new acting police commissioner, lashed out because Dimpane’s presentation did not mention the army’s recent deployment on the Cape Flats in her presentation.
“It’s very topical and nothing has been mentioned. Why haven’t we heard anything about it?” James wanted to know from the new acting police chief on Wednesday.
Maroela Media earlier reported that Dimpane was tasked with presenting the police’s 2026/2027 budget, annual performance plan and strategic plan to the portfolio committee on Wednesday.
“I’m really disappointed that nothing was said about that in your presentation,” James told Dimpane.
A resident of Beacon Valley, Mitchells Plain, watched as the army moved through his street. (Photo: Ashraf Hendricks / GroundUp)
“Nothing has been said about the fact that since the deployment we haven’t seen a report in terms of successes; to inform South Africans about where we are; what’s happening, and whether it’s working or not.
“On the contrary, since the deployment of the SANDF there have been more deaths on the Cape Flats,” James then claimed.
According to James, she herself had driven for more than an hour behind no less than three army vehicles in different parts of the Cape Flats. “And guess what? Not once did the police or the army stop to enter somewhere,” she pointed out in parliament on Wednesday.
“It almost feels like a newlywed couple after a wedding driving through the community smiling and waving… They drove through the community, they smiled and waved, then they parked and that was the end.
“What is happening? We have allocated billions. We are literally seeing one army vehicle with eight members and four police vehicles in heavily targeted communities.
“Your presentation speaks of a whole-of-government approach. Why don’t we have a whole-of-government approach when it comes to this intervention? What’s stopping us? What are the challenges? It clearly fell flat on its back.”
A family watches from their driveway as the army moves past. (Photo: Ashraf Hendricks / GroundUp)
‘Highly common and premature observation’ – minister
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia stepped in for Dimpane. “It is certainly premature to make that kind of highly general observation that it doesn’t work,” the minister retorted.
“The deployment is for a period of one year and I would say, honorable members, that it is critical that the deployment of the SANDF is not a panacea. We have never presented it as such.
“The critical question for the police is going to be how we use this period to improve the level of policing in relation to organized crime.
“The deployment of the SANDF was certainly necessitated by the recognition that we are failing to deal with gangs and illegal mining at the level we need to. We therefore need to have a conversation about what the government is doing to tackle this evolving challenge of organized crime.
“This is the critical question,” says Cachalia.
Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia during a session of the parliamentary portfolio committee on police on Wednesday. (Photo: Screengrab)
“The deployment is to create space to develop and implement a strategy for organized crime.”
Cachalia also said it was important to keep the agenda of Wednesday’s meeting in mind. “We were asked to prepare something about the budget and the annual performance plan. We were not asked to report on the SANDF’s deployment,” he pointed out to James.
“But the honorable member is entitled to raise that issue and there are legitimate questions about how that intervention is monitored and whether it is successful or not,” Cachalia conceded.
“I think this is a matter that the committee must focus on in its work going forward. We as the ministry are working to monitor the deployment of soldiers, who are not directly under the command of Gen. Dimpane.”