IN QUOTES | Mapisa-Nqakula on deployment of 73,000 defence force members - 'police need help'

Defence and military veterans minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on Thursday expanded on President Cyril Ramaphosa's order to deploy 73,000 more SANDF members who will enforce the rules of the lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

TimesLIVE reported that Ramaphosa wrote to Cyril Xaba, co-chairperson of the joint standing committee of defence, on Wednesday.

Ramaphosa wrote that Covid-19 cases continue to increase countrywide.

"As a result I have decided to employ an additional 73,180 members of the SANDF, consisting of the regular force, reserve force and auxiliary force" from April 2 to June 26.

Here's a summary of what Mapisa-Nqakula said in an interview with Radio 702 in five quotes:

SA not off the hook

“If you look at the numbers and rate at which the infection has gone up, you will realise that at some point, we may need the kind of human resource deployed like we've never seen before. What we have seen from other countries and what we've heard from the professor [Salim Abdool Karim] is that we are likely to see an exponential curve around August/September. What this means is we need to tighten enforcement and that people fully understand the dangers of getting this virus.”

Health-care services 

“We have an entity called the SA military health services, which under the department of health will come in when the need arises. They have been on standby and if there's any mass screenings and testing, we hope the department of health will rely on the skills we have. They will also look after the members of SANDF.”

Preparing in advance 

“We cannot say we'll never get to where other countries have been to. We'll need the members of the SANDF to pick up those bodies to go and bury them because they are the ones who have a mandate of being deployed.”

People are concerned

“One of the issues which has become sensitive is people coming forward saying we've not seen police and SANDF yet we see people walking up and down. We have to support the police with the problems they are faced with.”

Swift action 

“The WHO has come out in support of SA for the measures we've taken right at the beginning. The president and command council took a decision that you've got to find a way of curbing the spread and that has helped us plan for an eventuality.”