South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will send the army to help the police fight criminal gangs and illegal mining. Gang violence is a huge problem in South Africa, which has one of the highest murder rates worldwide. "Organised crime is now the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development," Ramaphosa said in his annual State of the Nation Address on Thursday. "I will be deploying the South African National Defence Force to support the police," he added. Last month, Police Minister Firoz Cachalia admitted that the police still cannot defeat deadly criminal gangs, showing how big the crime problem is. Ramaphosa said he asked police and army chiefs to prepare a plan on where to send security forces soon. Most military help will focus on Western Cape and Gauteng. "Children here in the Western Cape are caught in the crossfire of gang wars. People are chased out of their homes by illegal miners in Gauteng," Ramaphosa said. Illegal miners known as "zama zamas" are often undocumented foreign nationals involved in crime syndicates. Besides sending troops, Ramaphosa promised to recruit 5,500 more police officers, boost intelligence, and attack crime networks. South Africa is Africa's most industrialized country, but it struggles with deep-rooted organised crime. Police data says 63 people died daily in crimes from April to September last year.