South Africa was currently providing most of the funding for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM), through the SADC Peace Fund, Chief of the SANDF, General Rudzani Maphwanya, told reporters at a media briefing on Wednesday. He pointed out that South Africa was the richest member of the bloc, and affirmed that South Africans should be proud of the country’s financial support of the mission. However, he added, there was now the possibility that the SADC Peace Fund would seek extra funding from outside the grouping.

A military mission to assist Mozambique and its armed and security forces to combat the Islamist extremist insurgency in Cabo Delgado province in the northeast of that country, SAMIM was composed of armed forces contingents from eight of SADC’s 14 member countries. The force contributing countries were Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

He averred that failing to deal with the insurgency in Cabo Delgado would create the risk of a ‘spill over’ effect into the rest of SADC, including South Africa. SAMIM was effectively keeping “the terrorists at bay and allowing South Africans to go about their daily lives,” he said. “We take the question of ‘spill over’ most seriously. There is no direct funding from South Africa to any terrorist group. South Africa stands united with the region, that terrorism will never be tolerated.” Therefore, it had to be ‘nipped in the bud’, before it could spread.

Currently, there were more than 500 South African soldiers ‘on the ground’ in Mozambique. But the South African government had approved a total force of 1 495 for deployment, when and if necessary. As for the other contributing countries, they had “stood by their word” in terms of the forces and capabilities they had sent to Mozambique, he reported.

Quite separately and under a bilateral agreement with Mozambique, Rwandan troops were also deployed in the region. SAMIM, the Rwandan contingent and the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM) were now coordinating their operations, assured Maphwanya.

“We’re doing this collectively,” he highlighted. “There is also synergy between SAMIM, FADM and the Rwandans. We’re all here for a sole purpose: aid the people of Mozambique.”

“We need to plan together,” he emphasised. “Currently, when Rwanda is planning an operation, they plan it in conjunction with FADM as well as with SAMIM.”

“SAMIM forces are well received by locals in the area,” he reported. “We are also assisting members of communities with our medical capabilities.” Local people had said that the presence of SAMIM had made them feel free to return to their homes and resume their normal lives.

“We believe [the insurgents’] strength has been degraded, at least for now,” by SAMIM operations, affirmed SANDF Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant-General Siphiwe Sangweni. One main insurgent leader had been “eliminated” during the SAMIM Operation Buffalo (which ran from October last year to January this year), but the extremists were organised into many small cells, each with its own leader. And Maphwanya cautioned that the military couldn’t do everything on its own, and that governance had to be strengthened in Mozambique.