By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has deployed nearly 3,000 members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to bolster the work of the police to safeguard the national and provincial elections.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, “Presidency confirmed that President Cyril Ramaphosa had informed the National Assembly about the employment of 2,828 members of the SANDF for the prevention and combating of crime and for the maintenance and preservation of law and order during the national and provincial elections.”
According to the Presidency, the cost of this employment is estimated at just over R59 million.
Presidency added that this move by the president is done accordance with Section 201(2) (a) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996, read with Section 19 of the Defence Act of 2002 (Act No.42 of 2002).
South Africans head to the polls on Wednesday for what many describe as the most closely contested elections of the democratic era.
Voting stations will open at 7am and close at 9pm tomorrow.
Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, says the deployment of the SANDF has been prioritised for hot spot areas of the province.
He was speaking late on Monday in East London following a day in which shots were fired at police in Mthatha after disgruntled taxi operators used trucks to blockade roads and over 100 voting stations could not open.
Mabuyane said the burning of trucks, and looting of goods “hampers the economic life of the province” and was strongly condemned by the Provincial Government.
“To salvage the situation, I have engaged both the Ministers of Police and Defence, as such, there has been an increased deployment of law enforcement agencies on the ground.”
“The deployment of the South African Defence Force has also been prioritised to (hot spot) areas in the province including Mthatha, “he said.
Mabuyane said the killing of three taxi owners last week is also under investigation following multiple shooting incidents in the areas of Ugie, Maclear, and Mthatha.
“We commend the swift arrests made by SAPS and strongly send a warning to those found to be inciting violence in the province. The Provincial Government had to implement immediate action to restore peace and order in all the affected areas,” the Premier said.
By late on Monday all the affected roads were reopened with law enforcement agencies deployed to monitor the situation.
Meanwhile, five men arrested in Mthatha following a shootout with police in which two men were wounded, had threatened staff at Mthatha airport earlier forcing it to close out safety fears.