South Africa: Ramaphosa announces deployment of army to tackle crime

In a bid to lower high rates of gang violence and other crime, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced he will deploy the army to work with the police.

For Ramaphosa, the situation has reached a desperate level of urgency.

On Thursday, he said "organised crime is now the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development. Our primary focus this year is on stepping up the fight against organised crime and criminal syndicates.''

Ramaphosa added, ''we cannot fight organised criminals by treading softly. We must act with zero tolerance and bring the full force of the law to bear. I would like this message to be clear, there will be no impunity for acts of crimiality and corruption."

Other initiatives to tackle crime included recruiting some 5,500 new police officers.

The country has a staggering murder rate of around 60 deaths per day.

That includes deaths in wars between drug gangs, and mass shootings related to illegal mining.