In his first “From the Desk of the President” missive for August, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expands on crime and violence and the contribution made by soldiers alongside and in support of the SA Police Service (SAPS).

He refers to the SAPS-led Operation Shanela (sweep clean), now in its second year, as “a multi-sectoral crime-fighting strategy” with involvement from the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) as well as other law enforcement agencies. These range from the National Traffic Police Unit (NTPU) of the Road Traffic Management Corporation and the nine provincial traffic authorities through to the country’s eight metro police departments (Buffalo City, Cape Town, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Johannesburg, Mangaung, Nelson Mandela Bay and Tshwane). Also in Shanela are the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), National Treasury’s SA Revenue Service (SARS), and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

Ramaphosa notes Shanela “draws heavily on collaboration with community policing forums (CPFs) and community patrollers” as well as working with security companies, adding it shows the fight against crime is gaining momentum.

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