Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

The Democratic Alliance appealed on Friday for what it called a "secret arms deal" to acquire up to 14 Airbus military transport aircraft to be suspended until a meeting is held by the defence committee to address "critical questions that surround the deal".

The transport department announced on Thursday South Africa has committed to buying at least 837 million Euros worth of military aircraft in exchange for investment, technological knowledge, and jobs.

The country has agreed to participate in the A400M multi-role mission transport aircraft design and manufacture programme, after it accepted an invitation to do so by Airbus Military.

In return, South Africa is committed to procure between eight and 14 aircraft -- valued from 837 million Euros -- between 2010 and 2014.

The terms of the agreement between the South African government and Airbus Military were still being negotiated.

"We are confident that a Memorandum of Agreement will be signed in the coming weeks," the department said in a statement.

Airbus Military's Peter Jost said in September a University of the Witwatersrand study had shown that an interest in as few as eight of the about EU98 million (R778 million) aircraft would create at least 401 direct jobs and 2767 indirect employment opportunities over the programme's projected 50-year life.

It could also add R859 million to the country's gross domestic product over 15 years.

Jost said the SA Air Force needed the aircraft. The existing SAAF transport fleet, a dozen upgraded C130 medium transports and a few, smaller Spanish-built Casa light transports, could not meet future airlift requirements.

In a statement on Friday, DA defence spokesman Rafeek Shah said he had asked for an urgent meeting of the National Assembly's defence committee to discuss the matter.

Critical questions included whether the "contract (was) put out to tender", on what basis did the defence force require what appeared to be top of the line aircraft in the context of an already over strained defence budget, did the South African government approach the United States government to use surplus US Hercules C130s, and "why was the deal conducted in such secrecy".

"We believe that any deal of this nature should only be signed after a thorough investigation of how the current transport needs of the SANDF are being met. There is every possibility that the strengthening of existing arrangements may be the most cost effective option," Shah said.

An SA [South Africa] National Defence Force delegation led by Surgeon-General Rinus Jansen van Rensburg returned home on Thursday [9 December] from a goodwill visit to the Great Lakes region.

The two-day visit was to soldiers deployed as peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi.

Speaking at the South African bases, Van Rensburg praised the soldiers for the sacrifices they were making, saying their peace efforts were greatly commendable and acknowledged by the international community.

"This makes South Africa well respected. Your willingness to serve these neighbouring countries which have been ravaged by war is commendable and we salute you," he said.

He thanked the families of soldiers for letting them spend Christmas in foreign lands instead of spending it with them at home in South Africa.

The goodwill visit was sponsored by ABSA [Amalgamated Banks of South Africa], Sanlam [financial services group] and SAMI-SAFI [expansion untraced], and the delegation included SANDF [South African National Defence Force] personnel, businessmen and journalists.

Through the project gifts were presented to the soldiers at their bases in Kirundi and Kinshasa in the DRCongo, and Burundi, in the form of a bag and a booklet called "Why Jesus" from a Christian organization.

The trip was not trouble-free. The flight was stranded in Lusaka when it stopped to refuel on Tuesday [7 December]. Due to miscommunication between the airliner and Zambia's joint security personnel, the plane was not immediately allowed to leave the country.

The flight needed a clearance to proceed as it was registered as a business flight but had been found by Zambian authorities to be carrying soldiers.

Van Rensburg said this was understandable. The authorities had acted in this manner for security reasons and had handled the matter efficiently and professionally. The plane was delayed by four hours.

Most of the soldiers deployed to the Great Lakes areas will return to South Africa next year in May. Replacement soldiers will then be deployed in the Great Lakes.

But while it would not be easy for these soldiers to spend Christmas without their loved ones most of them were happy to serve their country in peace-keeping duties.

A young female sergeant, whose name tag read McClain, said it was an honour for her to be deployed in Kinshasa, even though her mother had initially opposed it. As a female soldier involved in such a mission, she had encountered problems with discrimination but said these had been sorted out.

Major Vivian Chamers, who has been at the Kinshasa base since November last year, said spending Christmas away from his family would be bearable as he had taken leave earlier in the year.

Asked about reports of misconduct by South African soldiers, Chamers said these were often exaggerated. "When young soldiers come here they find it difficult to be away from their families, and would then try to have a good time. Ultimately everyone is trying to do their best here."

When the delegation was driven in a troop convoy to the bases, the trust that South African soldiers had earned among the locals was evident.

Chamers said: "They are positive towards us because they understand that we are fighting the system which is causing the war and they also see South Africa as a good model."

Sergeant Ernest Rapiya disagreed, saying some of the population did not understand why the South African troops were there and that language was a barrier to good relations. However, many other soldiers seemed to be conversant in local languages such as Swahili.

Sergeant Moegamad Kariem, 26, who had previously been deployed to Goma in the eastern DRCongo, said being away from home was probably less difficult for him because he was single. He said he had enjoyed serving in Goma because it was much like Cape Town.

Last week, civilians fled clashes in the eastern part of the DRCongo, amid Western claims that Rwandan troops were operating in the area.

This was after Rwandan president Paul Kagame warned that his country would act against 8,000 to 10,000 Rwandan Hutu rebels taking shelter in the eastern DRCongo.

The South African ambassador to Kinshasa, Sisa Ngombane, was part of the goodwill delegation. He told Sapa it appeared that such elements were there but that the DRCongo government and the joint peace forces were addressing the problem.

Rwanda has twice invaded the DRCongo, in 1996 and 1998, to hunt down Rwandan Hutu rebels believed responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.