Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

Defence NEEDS OUTSTRIP RESOURCES The three key expenditure issues for the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) are transformation, strategic arms procurement and regional peacekeeping. Each element is under mounting stress, and this year's budget reflects those strains to an unprecedented degree. The SANDF is caught in a spiral of mounting needs and diminishing resources.

The going is likely to get tougher over the next three years as the SANDF's annual payments for the heavy weapons package reach a projected peak of R7,8bn in 2005/2006.

In a desperate effort to prepare for the arrival of new helicopters, fighter jets, corvettes and submarines, now estimated at R52,9bn over 12 years, the Air Force and Navy have begun spending more on logistics support, training and skills retention. But is there enough in the pot? The overall defence budget rises just 6,4% this year to R20,1bn, with a projected R22,5bn in 2005 - hardly sufficient to meet the force's ambitious aims. Something has to give.

The problem, says retired Major-Gen Len le Roux, now a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, is the declining operational budget. Spending on personnel and capital will rise by 7,6% and 13,0%, but the budget for operations - such as police support, border patrols, supplies and maintenance - has fallen by 8,2%. The optimum balance is 40% for personnel and 30% each for capital and operations. Instead, the SANDF is spending 35,4% on personnel, 45,5% on capital and equipment and just 19,1% on current operations. Add to the capital cost another R1bn or so for four maritime helicopters for the corvettes.

The budget bemoans the "growing spending pressure" of regional peacekeeping - especially since the SANDF expects to deploy in March a further 1000 troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of the UN Monuc 3 deployment. Meanwhile, the Burundi peacekeeping venture is also dragging on and only part of the year's budget has been provided for - R162m.

A beneficiary of the peacekeeping and diplomatic initiatives around the New Partnership For Africa's Development is defence intelligence, which receives a 36,6% boost, and intelligence processing, which is allocated 91,7% more.

A problem is the need to transform the racial complexion of the force while retaining essential skills and reversing the unacceptably high age and low fitness profile of the rank and file.

To this end, the SANDF has introduced the military skills development system - a voluntary call-up, though it shudders at the phrase. This will entail two years of service, with the option to sign up permanently or join the reserves.

The burden of HIV/Aids and exotic diseases among troops in Burundi and the DRC is placing stress on the military health support budget, which rises just 6,3% this year, says the "Estimates of national expenditure".

Deputy President Jacob Zuma says the days of the intelligence services being associated with brutal interrogation and violence are long gone.

He says the profession has now become the center of government.

Mr Zuma was speaking at the official launch of the South African National Academy of Intelligence in Mafikeng, North West today.

'Inteligence in South Africa is no longer the euphemism for dirty tricks under a heavy veil of secrecy ... but act in a special way as a security advisor to government by providing adequate information and early warnings on obstacles facing government,' he said.

He added that no government decision ought to be taken without the implications thoroughly taken into account.

'If accepted as a key principle between government and the intelligence services, the challenge is that if intelligence services is in the center of government, it means that intelligence services must be correct and scientifically accurate,' said the self confessed ardent former practitioner of the profession.

The academy, which was renamed after the late ANC stalwart Mzwandile Piliso, will take 50 students at a time including some of its staffers. Mr Piliso died in 1996 at the age of 72.

Previously called Khupe Campus, Intelligence minister Lindiwe Sisulu closed the previous academy two years ago, to allow for restructuring and refocusing of the intelligence department's training responsibility.

Late last year, the SANAI was established as a public entity to provide training to members of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the South African Secret Service and related structures such as the National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee (NICOC) and the Presidential Support Unit.

Training on national strategic intelligence will also be provided to the intelligence components of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the South African Police Service (SAPS).

The academy comprises a vocational and a research component and plans are underway to develop the structure into an institution of higher learning.

The occasion was graced by minister Sisulu, North West premier Popo Molefe and former intelligence minister Joe Nhlanhla.

Deputy President Jacob Zuma is expected to officially launch the South African National academy of intelligence (SANAI) in Mafikeng, North West, later today.

He will be joined by Intelligence Minister Lindiwe Sisilu and North West Premier Popo Molefe

According to Intelligence spokesperson Lorna Daniels, the Deputy President will rename the academy after the late ANC stalwart Mzwandile Piliso, who died in 1996 at the age of 72.

Previously called Khupe Campus, minister Sisulu closed the previous academy two years ago to allow for restructuring and refocusing of the intelligence department's training responsibility.

Late last year, the SANAI was established as a public entity to provide training to members of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the South African Secret Service and related structures such as the National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee (NICOC) and the Presidential Support Unit.

Training on national strategic intelligence will also be provided to the intelligence components of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the South African Police Service (SAPS).

The academy comprises a vocational and a research component. Plans are underway to develop the structure into an institution of higher learning. -

Government launches world's first Ka band satellite

REP By Candace Freeman tel: (012) 314 2217

South Africa's technology has reached a new milestone after arts, culture, science and technology Minister Ben Ngubane inaugurated the world's first Ka Band satellite-tracking antenna in Pretoria last night.

The Boeing Company and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which falls under the department, joined forces in a project managing the design and implementation of this Ka Band facility with Boeing investing R45-million to fund it.

Ka Band refers to frequencies that have until now, not been used for telemetry, tracking and command tasks.

Up to nine Spaceway satellites will be launched over a period of seven years and will provide bandwidth-on-demand direct to the office and home, with the initial service rollout in the USA.

The satellite is being housed at the CSIR Satellite Applications Centre in Hartebeeshoek, Pretoria, and Boeing is currently erecting two other ground stations in the USA to monitor and control the satellites during their 15-year design lifetime.

'The Ka band satellite-tracking antenna will benefit us in a myriad of ways. Its applications will be most obvious in the field of Earth Observation, a key technology in the development of southern Africa and elsewhere,' said Minister Ngubane.

'Indeed, the inauguration of the new satellite-tracking antenna, represents a milestone in the development of our research infrastructure and in our work towards unlocking our full scientific and technological potential.

'This partnership reflects the spirit of my department's national research and development strategy, which has as a key objective stimulating technology and innovation in support of accelerated economic growth and an improvement in quality of life, a better life for all.'

Several African conflicts are ripe for resolution, South African National Defense Force (SANDF) chief General Siphiwe Nyanda said on Thursday. 
"The moral suasion and other forces acting on errant leaders and followers alike to bury the hatchet ...are great," he told a seminar in Pretoria, the South African Press Association reported. 
"Many of the conflicts that have blighted Africa's recent history are burning themselves out and are ripe for resolution." Nyanda's address was delivered on his behalf  by SANDF chief of corporate staff Vice-Admiral Martyn Trainor. It formed part of a lecture series organized by the African Center for Constructive Resolution of Disputes and other organizations. Nyanda said South Africa and its defense force would undoubtedly play an important role in peace missions in Africa in the next decade. "A big effort now by the SANDF could provide disproportionately large positive results." The deployment of a South African protection force in support of peace efforts in Burundi was evidence of what could be achieved. Nyanda said the commitment of these forces sparked hope among ordinary Burundians and gave extra credibility to South Africa's facilitating role. "There have been times when the exit criteria ...have been dusted off but, in retrospect, our judgment and persistence appear to be paying off." The world might be seeing the emergence of African solutions to the conflicts besetting the continent, Nyanda said. "Respected African facilitators, bolstered by credible African forces, the determination of ordinary people... carried forward on the back of a new African self-belief are signs of an historical turning point." Nyanda said the SANDF had so far deployed about 900 people on peace missions. Another 1,268 -- or two battalions -- were likely to be dispatched in the next few months. The SANDF's objective was to have the capacity to deploy between four and six battalions by 2004. This would be achieved by scaling down the use of soldiers to help fight crime and by expanding the SANDF, Nyanda said. "After years of minimal recruiting for the army, a start has been made to greatly increase the annual intakes." Between 1,200 and 1,500 extra recruits would enter the army this year. "In future years, this will progressively rise to the region of 10,000," Nyanda said. He added: "There are many positive spin-offs, but the most relevant for this is the effect of getting fresh legs in an ageing force." Since the start of forming a integrated army in 1994, SANDF was eager to win its name as a constructive force in the region, and the peacekeeping exercises in the neighbor countries provided a convenient opportunities for the army. 

The fight against crime in the country has received a major boost with the allocation of R2.7-billion to the criminal justice system.

Delivering his budget speech in Parliament, Cape Town today, finance minister Trevor Manuel said the money would also be used to ensure safety in communities.

The minister also announced a supplementary death benefit of R200 000 to police officers who lose their lives while on duty.

Part of the R2.7-billion will be used to hire more police officers, ensure the safety of magistrates in courts, the purchase of additional police vehicles and also to improve communications.

The justice department is expected to use the money to improve court performance, upgrade the Masters' Office and improve protection of women and children in the court processes.

'With its share, the correctional services department will expand accommodation for the growing prisoner population, fight corruption and address urgent repair and maintenance.'

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) will use its allocation to provide for the acquisition of four maritime helicopters, while R200-million a year will be used for peace support operations.

On 14 February President Thabo Mbeki in his state of the nation address announced that the SANDF [South Africa National Defence Forces] commandos will be phased out in the near future and be replaced by a new system, the composition and ethos of which will reflect the requirements of all rural communities.

On 17 February the minister of safety and security, Charles Nqakula, announced at a parliamentary press briefing that the SANDF commando system would be replaced by a new special police unit, known as the Protection and Security Services Division.

A rethink is needed. Mbeki and Nqakula need to consider the consequences of their decisions carefully... The commando has undergone several changes in the last 100 years to adjust to changing circumstances. This must now happen again for them to serve the broader community...

The primary function of the commandos, according to the White Paper on Defence and the Defence Review, is to ensure rear area - or home - defence capabilities in case of conventional threats against the country. This vital function should not be compromised by political agendas.

The secondary function of the commandos is to ensure rural security in support of the police, securing of national key points and disaster management in support of local structures.

Phasing out the commandos and replacing them with police will result in the country's rear area defence capabilities being abandoned...

The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mohammed Valli Moosa, has praised his department for once again cracking down on illegal fishing activities by seizing a consignment of approximately five tons of Patagonian Toothfish estimated at R500 000 from a warehouse in Cape Town yesterday.

The fish was discharged in Cape Town harbour in July 2002 from a Uruguayan registered fishing vessel, the 'Viola'.

The owners of the vessel have been unable to procure the documentation required in terms of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), to which South Africa is a party.

The purpose of the catch documentation scheme is to ensure that there is an audit trail to prove that the fish that ends up on the world markets has been legally caught.

Minister Moosa said that South Africa, as a member of the international fisheries community and bound by important international treaties, such as CCAMLR, takes its obligations seriously.

'We will take the strongest and most appropriate action to ensure that marine resources, and specifically endangered resources such as Patagonian Toothfish, are protected. South Africa had already reported this violation to CCAMLR at its last meeting in October 2002.'

The seizure of the Toothfish consignment is only one of government's major successes in recent months.

In its effort to prevent illicit wildlife trade, the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs (DACEL) has achieved a court conviction of a man involved in the export of Cape Fur Seal skins bound for Korea, without proper export permits.

Mr Jan Bester of Pretoria was on Wednesday convicted in the Kempton Park Court and fined R10 000 or 10 months in prison for contravening the law regarding trade in endangered species.

Half of the sentence was suspended for three years on condition he would not repeat the offence.

The illegal consignments, consisting of two lots, one containing 135 skins and the other, 30 skins listed as Appendix II by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), were brought into Gauteng from Namibia without proper import permits.

The consignments were later seized in Korea for arriving in that country without CITES export permits from Gauteng. The consignments worth about R 82 500 has been forfeited to the State.

Yesterday Minister Moosa told Parliament's National Council of Provinces (NCOP) that his department had confiscated abalone with an estimated value of R100-million since September 2001.

Responding to a question from a member of the NCOP, Minister Moosa said the total weight of the confiscated abalone was 188 tons.

He added that the abalone was not yet sold by the department, as it still needed to put control measures in place that would ensure that abalone sold would not be purchased by poachers, thus providing them with the means to have abalone legally in their possession.

He emphasised that the abalone would be disposed of through a tender with strict and specific conditions of sale.

At a Parliamentary media briefing held in Cape Town earlier this week, Minister Moosa made it clear that government intended becoming tougher and more dangerous on abalone poachers.

This will be accomplished through a vigorous operation that involved his department, the elite Scorpions investigative unit, South African Police Service (SAPS), South African National Defence Force (SANDF), and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

He further indicated that the department was seriously considering allocating abalone quotas only to small individual divers along the coast and not to big companies.

Minister Moosa will today attend the launch of a shipyard where four state-of-the-art fishing patrol boats will be constructed on behalf of the department.

This is yet another tough measure DEAT is taking against illegal fishing activities.

Defence minister Mosioua Lekota has dispelled calls for the retention of the Commando unit saying the country could no longer afford to have an untrained part-time military unit in a constitutional order.

The call came after some agricultural and farming organisations as well as opposition parties cried foul at the phasing out of the unit, saying the move would expose the farming community, whose security, government said, would be ensured by a new police unit.

Briefing reporters in Parliament, Cape Town, today, the chairperson of government's international relations and security cluster said the part-time armed civilians who had been accused of perpetuating gross human rights abuses against defenseless black labourers in the rural farmland, was irrelevant.

He confirmed earlier remarks by safety and security minister Charles Nqakula this week that the notorious apartheid-established unit would be replaced by a police unit, adding that members of the Commando unit were not trained in any military or police work but was merely a group of part-timers, who periodically protected the rural areas.

'A structure like that which is not under proper training, proper regulation and they don't even have arresting powers - they are just citizens armed with weapons - that they can do anything they choose to do, can not be allowed in a constitutional order,' Mr Lekota said.

The commandos who are said to have established close-knit contact with farmers, some right-wingers, have been accused of being a law unto themselves by harassing and torturing vulnerable farm labourers, who are sometimes allegedly brutally beaten and forced to eat their own faeces or even painted for unsubstantiated petty crimes.

Mr Lekota said the phasing out of the unit was part of the overall transformation of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) that would see the exit of the old guard, who would be replaced by young aspiring military officers in the navy, air force and other units.

Nyanda admits to skills shortage but denies alleged low operational readiness

BEING chief of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) has to be one of the more difficult of juggling acts in government.

As the SANDF emerges from almost a decade of integration of different armed formations, it is also fast coming up against new challenges such as budget constraints, age, skills shortages and new mission realities, while still struggling to address its legacies.

Defence Chief Gen Siphiwe Nyanda admits to "challenges", such as the skills shortage facing the 77000-strong force, but is highly sensitive to reports about low operational readiness.

Last year the most damaging was that the defence force only had a couple of Rooikat armoured vehicles and tanks that were ready for battle.

The SANDF's reply is these vehicles are for training and it makes little sense to maintain fighting vehicles it has in storage and which can be brought out should the need arise.

"Operational readiness and effectiveness are problems not only of the SANDF, but of all militaries. They all have the same problems of budgets that are skewed towards personnel expenditure, of soldiers who are not physically ready, although they may not have the same disease problems as in SA."

Peace support is an entirely new venture for the SANDF, but Nyanda insists it has learnt quickly and is ready. The largest operation at the moment is the protection of returned politicians in Burundi.

Nyanda agrees that there are dangers in that one of the armed factions has not signed the peace accord, but the basic guarantee for the mission is that the agreement provides a solid base.

While about to embark on a new and more demanding set of missions, the SANDF has its burdens. One is an old-age profile the average age of a private is 32 compared to that of about 22 in most other armies. Under United Nations rules those who are HIV-positive estimated by the SANDF at 22% in line with the national rate cannot be deployed on UN peacekeeping missions.

The SANDF has made proposals to government, but has to wait for a public service package before it can embark on any largescale campaign to attract new recruits. The downsizing that has taken place is largely through attrition and by way of retirement and early retirement.

In 1994 those in uniform in the SANDF numbered 110000. Today the figure is about 75300.

"We want the right size but also the right kind of person," Nyanda says.

This year the SANDF will take in about 1500 new recruits, compared to the average of 500 a year for the past few years.

The aim is to have an annual intake of about 10000, most of whom would be on short-term contracts. The idea is that these recruits would form the backbone of a more racially representative reserve force.

In the meantime, the commandos are being phased out to the chagrin of many farmers, who partly rely on them for security. In his state of the nation address last week, President Thabo Mbeki said the aim was to create, "a new system whose composition and ethos accord with the requirements of all rural communities".

Spending on personnel and the exit packages that are ultimately offered will burden the defence budget for some time. "We still have to free capital resources to training, which we have not attended to sufficiently."

There is still more capital spending required, in addition to that on the arms packages for the navy and air force. The army's basic fighting vehicle, the Ratel, will soon face bulk obsolescence.

One of the burdens on the SANDF is the criticism that there are far too many generals. At present there are 207 generals in the SANDF, which Nyanda says is a reduction compared to at the time of the Angolan conflict in the 1970s. He says part of the reason for the increase in the number of generals was the decision made to promote all brigadiers to the rank of general.

"It was important in terms of boosting morale," he says.

Nyanda tends to tread carefully on the emotionally charged area of transformation. He is quick to point out that the defence force reflects SA's racial demographics. But whites make up 83% of those with the rank of colonel, and only 3% of those who are privates. Asked when these ranks will reflect broader demographics, Nyanda says it takes years to train a colonel and refers to the need to develop an adequate exit mechanism.

However, the problem for the SANDF has been that those with the skills tend to take the packages. Nyanda admits that absorbing the arms package will amount to a challenge because of the skills shortages and says, "we dare not fail".

On the allegations of scandal surrounding the defence package, the chief is curt. "We are satisfied that we as the SANDF got the equipment we wanted," he says.

Killing the commandos GOVERNMENT says it is listening to farmers on the matter of their security, but has decided to phase out the commando system. There are about 51000 commandos, part-time soldiers grouped in 180 units under the SA National Defence Force who are called up for short periods, often in support of the police, for protection of the areas in which they live. The government's rationale for phasing them out is that during apartheid, the commandos played a role in apprehending freedom fighters and infiltrating the military wings of liberation movements. That hardly seems cause enough. After all, the rest of the military, of which the commandos are a part, played precisely this role and a far larger one in upholding apartheid. The defence force has struggled to transform since the first democratic elections in 1994, but for the most part it appears to have succeeded. There is no reason why the commando system cannot also transform, if in parts it has not already done so.

Indeed, the black membership of commandos has increased. If attitudes are similar to what they were in apartheid's heyday, there is no reason that those who do not uphold nonracial views cannot be ejected if there are complaints about their conduct. One of the dangers in phasing out the commandos is that the more gung-ho in rural areas may now resort to vigilante type action. Is it not better that commandos provide an outlet for members of rural communities who wish to play a policing or military role? Under the authority of the SANDF, these groups are fully accountable for their conduct and each bullet they are given. The abolition of this institutional framework may also be regretted when a rapid response is needed to local disasters. One value of the system is also as a source of employment, which helps reduce crime.

Government says it intends to replace the commandos with a new unit of the police, the Protection and Security Services Division, which will be responsible for farm security, border protection, national key points and VIP protection. Wisely, the group that represents commercial farmers, AgriSA and the Institute for Security Studies, has warned against phasing out the commandos until an effective alternative is in place. Considering the scale of the crime problem, there is no reason the commandos could not work with this new unit of the police. SA should try to throw everything it can into the fight against crime.

Farm labourers in Mpumalanga's deep south say they have finally won a hard-fought battle for the abolishing of army commandos.

Labourers on farms around rural towns of Wakkerstroom, Piet Retief, Volksrust and Amersfoort have been complaining to national and provincial authorities over the past four years to end the Wakkerstroom Commando's reign of terror against black farm labourers.

They claimed that commandos were used by farmers to force them off land.

Activists have praised President Thabo Mbeki's announcement during his state of the nation address on Friday that the 183 part-time South African National Defence Force (SANDF) units in the country were going to be phased out.

Safety and security minister Charles Nqakula reiterated Mbeki's statement this week saying that commando members have been linked to "atrocities."

Andile Mngxitama, a National Land Committee (NLC) official and anti-commando lobbyist, said on Tuesday that the government's step was closing a chapter of collusion between white farmers, commandos and justice officials against vulnerable labourers.

"This is a real victory for farm dwellers that the government has finally recognised that commandos serve the interests of the landlords and they're vicious," Mngxitama said.

"There are classic cases, especially in Mpumalanga, proving that commandos, which normally have white farmers as leaders, were colluding with white magistrates and prosecutors," he said.

Spokesman for the militant Landless Peoples Movement (LPM) Mangaliso Kubheka said that commando should done away with because they "beat, kill and even castrate" labourers.

Complaints from Mpumalanga labourers prompted former safety and security MEC Steve Mabona to appoint a special police unit, Gijima Tsotsi, in 2 000 to re-open and re-investigate more than 100 cases against commando members that were allegedly thrown out of court by biased magistrates and prosecutors since 1996.

Many of the cases couldn't be revived however, when police were unable to trace key witnesses after such a long time.

Transvaal Agricultural Union (Tau) safety and security spokesman Boela Niemann said that his union wasn't surprised by government's decision to phase out commandoes.

He said commandos had been under an orchestrated onslaught by the NLC and the militant LPM in recent years.

He said that the government should find a solution to the problems in rural areas, and not consider police as a replacement for commandos, as police were struggling to fulfil their own mandate to protect the public.

Opposition political parties such as the Democratic Alliance (DA), New National Party (NNP) and the Freedom Front (FF) have opposed the phase-out of the commandos.

* A R1,9 million suit brought against defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota by two farm workers who say they were tortured by commando members will be heard in the Pretoria High Court in November.

Farm labourers Moses Mayisela (36) and Mgezeni Hlatshwayo (41) claim that 10 Wakkerstroom Commando members tortured them in October 1996.

Mayisela was left permanently blind after the soldiers allegedly assaulted him before giving him electric shocks and spraying teargas on his face.

The labourers name prominent farmer and former leader of the commando, Barend Greyling, as a perpetrator. Greyling's brother, Willem, is also mentioned.

Mayisela of Rooikop farm near Wakkerstroom is suing for R1,6 million, while Hlatshwayo of Driefontein is suing for R341 300.

Complaints by farm labourers prompted Lekota and senior cabinet ministers to visit the SANDF's regional head office in Ermelo in 2000.

It was said that farm workers possibly confused soldiers with security guards who wore camouflage uniforms and Lekota got a High Court interdict prohibiting security companies from issuing camouflage outfits.

International watchdog, Human Rights Watch, also conducted investigations in the area in 2001 and expressed shock at stories told by the rural community.

Human Rights Watch researcher Bronwen Manby recommended in her report titled, Unequal Protection: The State Response to Violent Crime on South African Farms, that commandos should be banned from fighting crime and the job should be left solely in police's hands.

The case against two SA National Defence Force generals arrested on fraud charges in November, was postponed in the Pretoria Regional Court on Tuesday to June 18 for further investigation.

Brigadiers-general Petronella Mari, 42, and Ernest Zwane, were not asked to plead during the brief court appearance. Their bail was extended.

Mari and Zwane were arrested by the elite Scorpions detective unit after they were allegedly found to have falsified their tertiary qualifications. Mari was also accused of falsifying her employment record.

Zwane, who worked in the SANDF's legal department, was earlier released on R5000 bail. Mari was in November freed on R4000 bail. She was employed in the human resources department of the SA Military Medical Service.

The two have not been suspended from the SANDF pending the outcome of the trial.

The Democratic Alliance and the New National Party on Sunday leapt to the defence of the army's commandos after an announcement by President Thabo Mbeki that the government would phase out the present civilian defence system.

DA rural safety spokesman Andries Botha urged the government to thoroughly canvas the opinion of rural communities before implementing the phase-out.

He also urged the defence ministry to clarify its intentions and explain what would replace the commando system.

"Phasing out the commando system before an effective alternative is in place just does not make any sense. This announcement by the President will definitely send a very negative message to rural communities," he told Sapa.

Mbeki said in his state of the nation address to a joint session of Parliament on Friday that the proposed phasing out of the commando system was necessary for the proper regulation of the security services.

Reflecting on the history and the purpose of the commandos, Botha said they were still playing the same role in the community as they did when first established around 1715.

Back then, the Dutch United East Indies Company, who ran the Cape Colony were also not willing to spend what was required on community safety.

To stretch existing funding, part-time volunteer commandos were established. These were mobilised as and when required and cost less than full-time military units.

"This unique indigenous system earned itself great fame during the 19th Century by giving the British Empire a bloody nose several times. So impressed was one of its victims that he later named the most elite special forces of the British Army after them. His name was Winston Churchill."

Nearly all military and police special forces are today called commandos as a result.

"The commandos have undergone several changes in the last 100 years to adjust to changing circumstances. This must now happen again for them to serve the broader community."

He added that summarily discarding the name was not only a slap in the face of those who held the name dear but also a gross disregard of history."

In his reaction, NNP defence spokesman Adriaan Blaas said the move could "well compromise the defence capabilities of South Africa."

He said ensuring rural security was only one of the commandos' functions.

"In the defence planning the commando's form part of the Reserve Force earmarked for rapid force expansion in case of a threat against the Republic. They are tasked for rear defence and trained, amongst other task, to do this," Blaas said.

"Phasing out the commandos and replacing them with local security units will result in the rear area defence capability being abandoned," he added.

"The decision to phase out the commandos stems from a historical perspective and the fact that in isolated cases right wing extremists abused the system. This only happened because the SANDF (SA National Defence Force) did not pay sufficient attention to the Reserve Forces and more specifically to the commando units.

"Senior officers were not properly screened. Transformation in these units only took place on the initiative of local commanders. No support for the transformation process came from the defence force.

"To phase out the units is to cure symptoms and not to solve the problem," Blaas said.

He warned that the move would shatter the morale of many for whom the commandos are a form of life.

He said the majority of those serving voluntarily in the country's 183 commando units were dedicated and loyal South Africans with an affinity for the military. They were also doing a superb job.

During 2000 and 2001 commandos executed in excess of 44000 operations.

Approximately 27000 individuals solely depended on the income derived from part-time duty in commandos.

"Within the scope of the White Paper on defence and the Defence Review, commando units must be retained to ensure rear defence capabilities in case of conventional threats against South Africa and should not be compromised by of political agendas. A rethink on this issue is needed.

"The phasing out of the commandos will also result in many people losing their primary source of income. Many of the serving members will lose interest in participating voluntarily any form of military activity placing the principle of a reserve force in jeopardy," Blaas said.

Agri SA, the farmers' association and the Freedom Front also criticised the move on Friday.

President Thabo Mbeki says crimes against women and children will continue to receive priority attention, including the establishment of sexual offences courts.

Delivering his State of the Nation Address in Parliament today, the President said 11 such courts had already been launched in the past six months.

On other crime-related issues, Mr Mbeki said the country's security agencies had been hard at work over the last three years to implement the National Crime Combating Strategy targeted at policing areas with the highest incidence of serious crimes.

However, he said government was confident that definite progress was being made in combating crime.

President Mbeki said since 1999, the rates of serious crimes in targeted areas had either been reduced or stabilised. Murder was reduced by almost 17 percent.

Better intelligence capacity and improved operations had also improved the prevention and combating of crimes such as bank robberies, cash-in-transit heists and car hijackings.

'Case backlogs and the number of awaiting trial prisoners have been reduced as a result of the implementation of Saturday courts and improvement in the integrated justice system.

'We will continue to improve the capacity of the police service to discharge its crime prevention and combating responsibilities in these priority areas.'

He added measures would also be taken to ensure that the structures meant to support the security agencies, such as the SANDF Commandos and police reservists were properly regulated to do what they were set up for.

President Mbeki also commended the country's security agencies for the sterling work done during the launch of the African Union (AU) and during the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) last year.

During both events, security agencies were successful in providing security for foreign international delegates and no incidence of violence was reported.

The phasing out of military commandos - announced by President Thabo Mbeki on Friday - would only undermine rural safety, Agri SA said.

President Japie Grobler said SA National Defence Force commandos played a crucial role in the rural safety plan.

"Phasing them out, while experience has shown how difficult they are to replace, will be negative for safety and negative for the country," he said.

"It's the old story of hundreds of plans being hatched while crime continues unabated."

Institute for Security Studies director Jakkie Cilliers cautioned against any plan to abolish commandos before an effective alternative was in place.

"Commandos have traditionally been functioning as a blanket of support in rural safety," he said.

In his state-of-the-nation address in Parliament, Mbeki said measures would be taken to ensure structures such as commandos and police reservists were properly regulated to do what they were set up for.

"In this regard, in order to ensure security for all in the rural areas, including the farmers, government will start in the near future to phase out SANDF commandos, at the same time as we create in their place, a new system whose composition and ethos accord with the requirements of all rural communities."

Grobler said the idea was not new to Agri SA, and was discussed with the union more than a year ago.

At the time, the plan was to recruit thousands of reservists to take over the role of commando's over a period of between six to 10 years.

"But little came of that recruitment drive. Now they are once again talking about a new system to replace commandos. The end-result will only be a bigger safety vacuum in rural areas," Grobler said.

"The problem of farm killings and attacks will just remain with us."

Grobler said he suspected that commandos were being seen as an old-order system dominated by whites.

"That is no longer the case. Commandos have become fairly representative."

Cilliers said the fight against crime in general might also suffer if commandos should disappear.

"The government is struggling to recruit enough reservists, which means that military support for the police remains vital."

Commandos operating in rural areas to curb lawlessness enabled the police to deploy more staff for the battle against crime in urban areas.

Perceptions that misconduct was rife among members of commandos were not accurate.

"There were only isolated incidents of this nature," Cilliers said.

After four long years, a court date has finally been set for a R1,9-million law suit brought by two farm workers against defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota.

The Mpumalanga labourers will get to challenge the minister in the Pretoria High Court in November after they were beaten and tortured at the hands of part time army commando members seven years ago.

Farm workers Moses Mayisela, 36, and Mgezeni Hlatshwayo, 41, claim that 10 Wakkerstroom Commando members tortured them in October 1996. Mayisela was blinded in the assault.

The labourers sought legal action in 1999.

Their lawyer Marvin Joseph of Marvin Joseph Incorporate in Johannesburg said the trial was set for between November 17 and November 25.

"We're still preparing the case and some details [like the amount of the suit] may change," Joseph said.

The suit was initially instituted against the individual soldiers including prominent farmers and brothers, Barend and Willem Greyling.

The labourers' lawyer decided to sue the minister because the commandos were on official duty for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) when Mayisela and Hlatshwayo were assaulted.

The case was last postponed in May last year after Lekota's legal team wanted more medical tests to be done on Mayisela.

Mayisela of Rooikop farm near Wakkerstroom is suing for R1, 6 million, while Hlatshwayo of Driefontein is suing for R341 300.

Mayisela alleges that on October 9, 1996 the commando members detained and assaulted him for two days at Langfontein farm near Wakkerstroom. He claims that he was handcuffed, slapped, kicked and punched. The assailants gave him electric shocks, sprayed his face with teargas and covered his head with a balaclava.

Mayisela adds that the commandos allegedly prevented him from seeking medical help for two weeks after the torture.

Hlatshwayo claims that on the same day the commandos also allegedly handcuffed, slapped, kicked and punched him before he was given electric shocks. He alleges that they shaved his beard and poured water over him.

The soldiers allegedly placed him in a small room, sprayed teargas into his face and closed the door leaving him to suffocate.

Lekota's spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi could not be reached for comment on either his office line or cellphone on Wednesdsay.

Complaints by farm labourers prompted Lekota and senior cabinet ministers to visit SANDF's regional head office in Ermelo in 2000.

It was said that farm workers possibly confused soldiers with security guards who wore camouflage uniforms and Lekota got a High Court interdict prohibiting security companies from issuing camouflage outfits.

International watchdog, Human Rights Watch, also conducted investigations in the area in 2002 and expressed shock at stories told by the rural community.

Human Rights Watch researcher Bronwen Manby recommended in her report titled, Unequal Protection: The State Response to Violent Crime on South African Farms, that commandos should be banned from fighting crime and the job should be left solely in police's hands.

A special police unit, Gijima Tsotsi, was assigned to re-open more than 30 cases that were thrown out over six years, but the National Prosecution Authority of South Africa (NPASA) has since decided that many of them were too old to pursue.

Police, following up a 280kg find of spent mortars at a scrap metal dealer in Koedoespoort, Pretoria, seized another two to three tonnes of mortars at a smallholding in the north of the city on Tuesday.

Pretoria police spokesman Captain Piletji Sebola said police, investigating the theft of copper and aluminium cables as part of an ongoing operation with Telkom, visited a scrap metal dealer in Koedoespoort around 9am.

They found 280kg of 60mm, 81mm, and 120mm practice mortars and projectiles.

The person who sold these wares to the dealer claimed to have bought them from SA National Defence Force members, Sebola said.

Police then visited a smallholding in the Pretoria North area, where the rest of the find was made.

All the mortars were confiscated.

Sebola said nobody had been arrested. Police would look into claims that the mortars had been sold by defence force members.

The owner of the smallholding was not a member of the SANDF, he added.

Sebola said the mortars, although used, remained dangerous as they still contained small amounts of explosives.

A 30-year-old man, believed to have been a member of the SA National Defence Force, was shot dead early on Sunday morning at Kwabhoboza, Mtubatuba, in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, police said.

Inspector Terry Ngcobo said Sky Buthelezi was found by passers-by just after 1am on Sunday morning. He had five gunshot wounds to the chest. He was taken to a nearby clinic where he was pronounced dead.

Ngcobo said the police had not yet been able to confirm if Buthelezi was indeed a member of the SANDF, but people living in the area said he was.

He said police suspect that Buthelezi's handgun and cellphone were stolen because an empty holster and an empty cellphone pouch were found near the body.