Deputy President, Paul Mashatile, says the police will put in place a system to measure the success of Operation Prosper, which sees members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) assist the police to combat illegal mining, gangsterism and drugs in communities.
Mashatile was answering oral questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) about this and a range of other matters.
He recently visited Mitchell’s Plain on the Cape Flats to get first-hand experience of how Operation Prosper is progressing.
Mashatile visited Mitchell’s Plain late last month after being told by MPs that the deployment of the SANDF has done little to stem the violence on the Cape Flats.
During this question session, he came to report back that “672 arrests have been made since April of this year. Murders have been reduced in 11 stations, in other words, in areas covering 11 stations. Drug recoveries have also increased in areas covered by 12 stations. In conclusion, Honourable Chairperson, SAPS is currently developing a monitoring system to measure the success and impact of Operation Prosper.”
The Deputy President also assured MPs and the public that SAPS is being cleared of corrupt officers.
“ We have intervened. The Madlanga is now there; it’s an intervention; we are acting. In truth, we are cleaning up the service, making sure we remove the rotten potatoes from the bag, to make sure that credible men and women are brought in.”
He also addressed the matter of undocumented foreign nationals, saying the government is engaging with groups that organise protest marches.
“But we have decided we will also engage the leaders who organised these marches to understand that the government has plans to deal with the challenges they are raising. So, it’s not that the government is sitting and doing nothing. You are bemoaning the fact that we are moving too slow. We are moving now. We may have taken a bit of time to put things in place, but we are intervening.”
Citizens are urged to express concerns lawfully, within the Constitution, and reject vigilantism.
Government remains committed to lawful, constitutional processes in addressing migration challenges.#MashatileQandA #MashatileNCOP #ExecutiveAccountability#PaulMashatile pic.twitter.com/HxyU2nrzuG
— Paul Mashatile
(@PMashatile) June 18, 2026
Mashatile says he stands by his earlier pronouncements that he believes that South Africans are not xenophobic, but that they rather want socio-economic issues to be addressed. He urged communities not to resort to violence when they are frustrated.
“ I think the loud message from ourselves and in many communities is let’s not use violence, let’s use our laws. Our constitution guides us in every sector, even in this sector.”
VIDEO | Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s question-and-answer session in the NCOP:
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