The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said that it would maintain a presence at some Eskom power plants until threats of sabotage subsided at the power utility.
The deployment of troops at Eskom facilities was announced by the Presidency at the weekend.
It cited ongoing threats of criminality amid an energy supply crisis that has seen the country experience unprecedented power cuts.
SANDF spokesperson Andries Mohapa said that soldiers would be present across the Majuba, Camden, Tutuka, and Grootvlei power stations by the end of Tuesday.
He said that many started arriving on Monday night and would be working with the police under the ‘Operation Prosper’ campaign.
“The term of deployment is currently not yet known, we’ll see as the time unfolds in terms of the criminality and once the determination has been made by Eskom and all the security sectors, we will start with the demobilization.”
The parliamentary portfolio committee on mineral resources and energy has welcomed the deployment of troops at Eskom facilities.
Chairperson Sahlulele Luzipo said that this affirmed their view that the country’s energy crisis was caused by Eskom’s inability to maintain its aging infrastructure and internal sabotage as opposed to policy failure.
-EWN
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