Not a single gang dismantled despite the deployment of the SAPS and the SANDF and R823 million budget

Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia said that, despite deploying the SAPS and the SANDF to gang hotspots, no gang had been dismantled.

This deployment formed part of Operation Prosper, a large-scale, multidisciplinary national security intervention in South Africa.

It forms part of the national crime-fighting initiative announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the 2026 State of the Nation Address. 

The operation combines the resources of the South African Police Service (SAPS), the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), and law enforcement agencies. 

Initially launched to combat illegal mining, its scope expanded under the national crime-fighting initiative announced by Ramaphosa.

It now targets organised crime networks, drug trafficking, extortion, and gang-related violence across five provinces.

The operation relies on high-visibility military-backed patrols, vehicle checkpoints, roadblocks, and intelligence-led cordon-and-search operations.

The targeted provinces are the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, North West and Western Cape. 

The Western Cape is the primary target for anti-gang operations, focusing on areas such as Delft, Hanover Park, Mitchells Plain, Bishop Lavis, and Bellville.

In the gang-ridden precincts of the Western Cape, particularly across the Cape Flats, Operation Prosper functions as a high-intensity stabilisation force.

The financial lifeblood of the gangs is the illicit drug trade. This is why Operation Prosper aims to disrupt supply lines.

Recent targeted raids have resulted in major seizures of cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, mandrax, and ecstasy, alongside illegal firearms and ammunition.

The Democratic Alliance raises the alarm

Lisa Schickerling, the DA’s Spokesperson on Police, said that Cachalia’s admission that not a single gang was dismantled after three months is troubling.

This is despite deploying the SAPS and the SANDF to gang hotspots on the Cape Flats and surrounding areas at an estimated cost of R823 million over 13 months.

Schickerling called for intelligence-led policing and specialist gang prosecutions that lead to measurable results of catching and convicting criminals.

“Communities were promised restored order, disrupted criminal networks and a visible reclaiming of the state’s authority,” she said.

“Instead, residents have seen continued shootings, escalating gang violence and little meaningful change in their daily lived reality.”

She said that Phase One of Operation Prosper may have provided limited visible policing and some temporary stabilisation. However, this is not enough.

“The facts show that it has failed in its central purpose of weakening organised criminal networks,” she said.

Minister Cachalia admitted in Parliament that no gang was dismantled during the first phase of the operation.

“This is a damning indictment of an intervention that was sold to the public as a serious anti-gang response,” she said.

Schickerling said strong crime intelligence, capable detectives and coordinated prosecutors are needed to fight the gangs.

“Without these components, criminal syndicates simply regroup and continue terrorising communities,” she said.