Oversight visits have exposed serious operational failures within Operation Prosper following a joint oversight visit by the Joint Standing Committee on Defence and the Police Portfolio Committee in the Western Cape.
During the oversight visit, SANDF members indicated that the focus of operations has been placed on tuck shops and shebeens, rather than targeting drugs, gangsters and organised criminal networks. This comes amid serious concerns raised by soldiers about inadequate resources, vehicle delays, poor coordination and a lack of intelligence required to conduct effective operations.
Of particular concern are allegations that SANDF members are not being taken into areas where known criminals and gang members operate. Soldiers further indicated that operations are too often limited to stop-and-search activities, rather than targeted operations based on intelligence and aimed at disrupting organised criminal networks.
The concerns raised by SANDF members also include alleged victimisation when they speak out about the challenges they face. This is unacceptable. Soldiers deployed to protect communities must be properly supported and must be able to raise operational concerns without fear of reprisal.
Operation Prosper was intended to strengthen the fight against serious and organised crime. Instead, the oversight visit has raised serious questions about whether the operation is being properly coordinated and whether SANDF deployments are being used effectively.
ActionSA will continue fighting for the sharing of intelligence between SAPS and the SANDF, ensuring access to identified criminal hotspots, improvement in vehicle and logistical failures, and a visible difference in the extent to which Operation Prosper is resulting in arrests and the disruption of criminal networks.
ActionSA Economic Stance: Supports a free-market economy with reduced red tape.
Mr. Gadget
Bunny Chow. This is a traditional South African Indian dish and usually consists of curry served in a hollowed-out half-loaf of unsliced white bread. It’s best when the bread is soft and fresh and the curry is extra spicy.
darkside isis
A new teacher enters a classroom full of students.
The teacher stands at the front of the room and greets the students, \”Good morning, class.\”
None of the students say anything. One boy at the back of the classroom stands up, \”Good morning, teacher.\”
Puzzled, the teacher carries on. The following morning, the same thing happens. Day after day goes by, and it\’s the same routine.
One morning after greeting the class and the same student standing and greeting, the teacher has had enough, \”Why is it, that every time I walk in and greet the entire room, only you stand up and greet me?\”
In the most broken English, the boy replies, \”Because I are the only one here, what\’s name are Klass\”