News24 | Treasury says Operation Prosper funding has been released, hitting back at SANDF top brass

Major General Godfrey Thulare of the SA National Defence Force is the commander of the joint operational headquarters for Operation Prosper.

Frennie Shivambu/Gallo Images via Getty Images

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National Treasury has slammed Major General Godfrey Thulare for claiming that no funding has been released for Operation Prosper.

Operation Prosper is the year-long deployment of 2 200 soldiers to combat gangsterism and illegal mining, announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in February. The deployment commenced in March across the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and parts of the Free State.

Thulare, commander of the joint operational headquarters for Operation Prosper, told MPs on Friday that the military had not yet seen a “single cent” of the R823 million allocated to the operations.

He later repeated that “no funding” had been received by the end of July.

While it is technically correct that no money had been paid out by end July, Treasury has hit back in a statement on Sunday, reaffirming what it had told News24 on Friday, namely that the full amount of about R823 million was released on 6 August. The SANDF had been kept in the loop on the reason for the five-month delay, which relates to the finalisation of the Appropriation Act.

“On 6 August 2026, the Minister of Finance approved the release of funding for Operation Prosper in terms of Section 6(1)(c) of the Appropriation Act. This provision was the best available mechanism to ensure the earliest release of funds, given the timing of the announcement. The Act was assented to on 16 July 2026, which provided the Minister of Finance the legal authority to release the funds.”

Treasury also said it has written to the SANDF twice, “offering support in dealing with their broader funding challenges, but has yet to receive a response.”

Operation Thulare has been plagued by allegations of brutality by SANDF members. There are also questions about whether it is effective in curbing gang violence, especially in Cape Town.

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Ian Cameron, DA MP and chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, earlier this week said the fact that the Western Cape had recently seen more than a hundred murders in the space of a week suggested that the operation was far from a success.