2,700 soldiers deployed to Eskom power stations

The Department of Defence has given notice of the deployment of 2,700 soldiers in South Africa under Operation Prosper, extending the time they will be assisting with keeping order and security in check at Eskom.

The department gazetted the notice on Friday (27 January), laying out the guidelines and code of conduct for the soldiers involved with the operation.

Operation Prosper was first launched in 2021 in collaboration with the South African Police Service (SAPS) to keep law and order during the 2021 July riots. The operation was launched again in December 2022 when soldiers were deployed to four power stations to protect them from criminals.

According to the department, 2,700 soldiers will be deployed from 16 December 2022 to 16 March 2023. A briefing by president Cyril Ramaphosa, seen by News24, states that the latest deployment is singularly focused on protecting Eskom’s power stations.

The key goal of the operation is “the prevention and combating of crime and maintenance and preservation of law and order”. It focuses on the following:

• Protecting national key points and critical infrastructure

• Patrols

• Preserving life and protecting property

• Roadblocks and vehicle control points

• Ensuring freedom of movement of own forces and

• Cordon and searches

While SANDF members have an inherent right to self-defence, the department said that the operation carries the principle of minimal force.

Eskom is under siege by criminals, from low-level opportunistic and petty thieves to complex and highly organised syndicates. The list of criminal activities it has had to suffer is storied and long, with coal theft, diesel theft, contract exploitation, high-level corruption and even threats of violence adding to the stresses.

According to Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter, the worst-performing power station in the group’s fleet – Tutuka Power Station in Mpumalanga – is managing an energy availability factor of only 15%, and is being crippled by criminality.

On top of theft of coal and diesel, active sabotage and corruption, workers and managers at Tutuka and other power stations also face threats to their lives and their families’ lives.

The army was deployed to assist the SAPS and Eskom in dealing with criminal elements; however, speaking to the Sunday Times, managers at stations say the army has not really made much of a difference.

According to one manager, who spoke to the paper on condition of anonymity, the few soldiers who have been deployed cannot do anything against entire syndicates of criminals.

As criminals continue their siege, South Africa has been thrust into the worst-ever levels of load shedding as the 15-year power crisis deepens.

Load shedding has been implemented on a near-permanent basis since September 2022, and has hit the country at high stages every day in 2023 so far.