South Africa’s president has ordered thousands of military personnel to assist in a nationwide operation against illegal mining, an activity that is estimated to cost the country billions of dollars each year.
The president’s spokesman Vincent Magwenya announced on Thursday that 3,300 army personnel would partner with police in “an intensified anti-criminality operation against illegal mining across all provinces”.
The mission will run until April 2024 as part of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s “Operation Prosper” to instil law and order, he added.
Ramaphosa previously deployed the army to the Western Cape province in 2019 to fight gang violence as part of the same operation.
Illegal gold mining has been a continuing threat in South Africa for decades, with poverty, unemployment and crime driving the underground industry. The activity has hurt the country’s investment pull and cut into mining companies’ profits, mining industry representatives say.
Source: aljaeera.com
