By Ntombi Mhlongo
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended the deployment of South African troops in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which will cost taxpayers close to E2 billion.
According to Club of Mozambique News, Ramaphosa informed Parliament’s presiding officers of the move in a letter addressed to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and National Council of Provinces Chairperson Amos Masondo.
It has been reported that the President said the deployment of troops in Mozambique would be extended to April 2024.
Read More: Mozambique declares visa exemption for 28 countries
“This serves to inform the National Assembly that I have extended the employment of one-thousand-four-hundred-and-ninety-five (1 495) members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) for service in fulfilment of an international obligation of the Republic of South Africa towards the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to support the Republic of Mozambique to combat acts of terrorism and violent extremists affecting the northern areas of Mozambique under Operation VIKELA,” Ramaphosa is said to have stated in the letter.
The extension is from April 16, 2023, until April 15, 2024, and the expenditure expected to be incurred is estimated to be E984 368 057, according to the president.
Read More: Cyclone Freddy hits Mozambique again
The SADC Mission in Mozambique and the Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) in Mozambique are battling Islamic extremists who have waged war in Cabo Delgado since 2017.
More than 4 000 people have been killed and 800 000 displaced since the insurgency started in 2017. Besides South Africa’s deployments in Mozambique and the DRC, Ramaphosa also extended the deployment of 200 South African troops to fulfil an international obligation towards the SADC’s maritime security.
This is to counter the threat of piracy and other illegal maritime activities along the southern African coast in the Indian Ocean. All deployments were authorised in accordance with the provisions of Section 201 of the South African Constitution.
