MPs have questioned whether the SANDF deployment on the Cape Flats is working, as gang violence continues and communities remain under pressure.

Critics in Parliament say the intervention lacks intelligence, forensics and visible enforcement, while Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia insists it is still too early to call the year-long deployment a failure.

With killings continuing in gang-hit areas, the real question remains whether this operation will deliver real safety or more frustration for residents.

MPs slam Cape Flats deployment as violence continues

The South African National Defence Force deployment on the Cape Flats has come under fresh political pressure, with MPs questioning whether the operation is making any real difference as gang killings continue. The issue was raised in Parliament when Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia appeared before the police portfolio committee on Wednesday.

Some MPs argued that Operation Prosper appears to lack the intelligence-driven strategy needed to tackle gang violence in a meaningful way. Soldiers have been deployed in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape since 1 April in a bid to stabilise violence hotspots, while troops in Gauteng, North West and Free State are focused on illicit mining operations.

MPs say the operation is not delivering results

ActionSA MP Dereleen James was among the most outspoken critics. She told the committee that the deployment had failed to curb bloodshed and claimed that deaths on the Cape Flats had worsened since soldiers were sent in. She also questioned why there had been no proper progress report on the operation.

James said the intervention appeared weak in intelligence, forensics and visible enforcement. She told the committee she had personally followed several deployments and had seen no active operations underway. Instead, she said officers drove through communities, waved at residents and then parked. She questioned how billions could be allocated for such a limited presence on the ground.

An amount of R823 million has been set aside in the SANDF budget for the deployments. That figure has sharpened scrutiny over whether the intervention is giving communities value or simply creating the appearance of action.

Minister says it is too early to call it a failure

Cachalia pushed back against the criticism, warning that it was premature to write off the year-long deployment so soon after it began. He said the intervention was not meant to be a stand-alone fix, but part of a broader effort to create space for a deeper strategy against organised crime.

He told MPs that the key challenge was how police would use this period to strengthen their response to gangs and illegal mining. Acting national commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane added that specialised police units were being prioritised, with R200 million allocated across the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State and Gauteng to boost capacity. She said those units should become part of the exit strategy once the current operation ends.

Communities still paying the price

The criticism lands against a grim backdrop. Earlier this month, eight people were killed in separate incidents in Mitchells Plain in a single afternoon. In another case, a six-year-old girl was struck in the head by a stray bullet during crossfire between rival gangs in Valhalla Park.

Those incidents underline why the stakes are so high. For residents on the Cape Flats, this is not an abstract policy debate. It is about whether the state can deliver visible protection in communities where fear, violence and gang control remain part of daily life.