Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is not only ready to fulfil its mandate in all respects, but will continue to be even "readier" in the years ahead, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said on Friday [31 March].

"Insofar as national security is a function first of diplomacy and secondly of the military, we are ready beyond our borders and shores to reinforce all diplomatic missions our nation undertakes," he told the National Assembly in debate on his budget vote.

"We are busy with this critical defence function," he said.

Africa remained the priority and central area of focus in South Africa's foreign policy initiatives, and therefore the SANDF was ready to reinforce continental and regional structures, particularly the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The Department of Defence was working to match the foreign affairs department's ambassadorial postings with its own defence attaches.

It had deployed 14 attaches in Africa so far , and planned to have 29 on the continent by the end of 2008, Lekota said.

Outlining the SANDF's peacekeeping missions in Africa, he said the success of its operations was the only way in which the department was assessed and judged by the government, other governments, and the international public.

The African Union, UN, and local commanders in Sudan, Burundi, and the DRCongo, had attested to the outstanding contribution of SANDF members.

Lekota said the greatest and most urgent enemies were poverty, underdevelopment, and environmental degradation. "We understand that the roots of conflict on our continent arise from these problems. We have come to realize that the thrust of our preparations should aim at the culmination of the defeat of these evils. And to be successful we need a more 'flexible' force. A force which is multi-skilled," he said.

The defence force had started its own transformation exercise, Vision 2020.

New defence equipment, such as the navy's corvettes and submarines, would be employed expediently and in a way that enhanced safety security in the region. "We are also ensuring that representivity is achieved through the training for the new capabilities," he said.

On the defence industry, Lekota said the defence and public enterprises departments had set up work groups to re-examine and align interactions between defence acquisitions company Armscor and manufacturer Denel. The defence department needed a defence industry able to maintain strategic capabilities.

"We are aiming for an industry relationship that allows the SANDF to maintain and develop those strategic and niche capabilities that secure our sovereignty and ensure our ability to sustain our industry's consumables without being dependent on others.

"The South African industry is the largest and most sophisticated in Africa, and we must jealously safeguard it to preserve our continental interests," Lekota said.

Spurred by the latest political developments in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Africa is to throw more resources into its peace missions.

Government spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe told reporters here yesterday that South Africa was closely monitoring political developments in some politically unstable areas around Africa.

"Cabinet noted the progress that has been made in Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, the DRC and Sudan to bring peace and democracy," he said.

He said that in order to continue supporting democratic processes in those countries, Cabinet had agreed that the deployment of 950 members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) as part of the UN operation in Burundi would be extended to 31 March 2007.

"Cabinet also agreed to extend until 31 March 2007, the deployment of 46 members of the SANDF in support of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) and mediation process in Cote d'Ivoire," he said.

Mr Netshitenzhe said it was also agreed that the existing deployment of 110 SANDF members in the DRC be extended, and that 14 more SANDF members be deployed there until March 31, 2007.

He said the deployment would be in support of two projects for the integration and military training of the Armed Forces of the DRC.

Cabinet also agreed to extend the deployment of 339 SANDF members as part of the African Union Mission in the Sudan until 31 March 2007.

As part of the African Union Military Force in the Comoros that will assist in ensuring a secure environment conducive to credible, free and fair presidential elections, Mr Netshitenzhe said South Africa would be deploying 371 SANDF members there.

He said cabinet also noted that 10 tons of DDT had been donated to Mozambique to assist that country in the campaign to control malaria, which would be used in line with World Health Organisation guidelines.

"South Africa will also assist with training in the safe handling, application and monitoring of the use of insecticides in keeping with guideline of the World Health Organisation," he said.

South Africa will extend its troop deployments in various peacekeeping operations in Africa for another year, government spokesman Joel Netshitenzhe said on Wednesday.

Netshitenzhe told reporters after the executive's fortnightly meeting in Cape Town, the cabinet had noted the operations made in Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Sudan to bring peace and democracy.

To continue supporting these processes, the government agreed the deployment of 950 members of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) as part of the United Nations Operation in Burundi would be extended to March 31 next year.

It also agreed to the deployment of 46 members of the SANDF in support of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration and mediation process in Cote d'Ivoire, until the same date.

In the DRC, the existing deployment of 110 SANDF members would be extended, and 14 more members deployed also until March 31, 2007, in support of two projects for the integration and military training of the armed forces of the DRC.

The government also agreed to extend the deployment of 339 SANDF members as part of the African Union Mission in the Sudan, again until March 31, 2007.

The cabinet approved the deployment of 371 SANDF members, from March 15 to June 30, 2006, as part of the AU Military Force in the Comoros to assist in ensuring a secure environment conducive to credible, free and fair presidential elections, Netshitenzhe said.

A former trainee mechanic in the defence force says his dream of becoming a pilot was shattered when he was severely injured in a helicopter crash in 1999.

Gert Johannes Etsebeth, 30, of Port Elizabeth is claiming more than R8.5 million in damages from the minister of defence and the chief of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF).

The case, being tried in the Pretoria High Court, was postponed indefinitely on Wednesday by Transvaal Deputy Judge President Jerry Shongwe.

Etsebeth said in papers before the court that on September 2, 1999 and while he was a trainee mechanic, he was an authorised observer on board an Alouette helicopter piloted by Major K Newman. As the helicopter neared Red Rock in Port Elizabeth, the engines failed and it made a crash landing.

Etsebeth said the accident was caused by the negligence of SANDF employees, who failed to properly maintain the engines. He said the SANDF also failed to investigate two prior incidents, when the aircraft yawed to the right in forward flight while "a strange noise" was heard.

Etsebeth claimed that Major Newman did not receive sufficient training in the emergency landing skills of an Alouette helicopter.

Etsebeth's right arm and leg were broken in two places, the base of his skull was fractured, his pelvis was broken and he suffered severe back injuries. He had to move about with the aid of crutches for two years.

He said he suffered severe pain and he can only walk and stand for short periods. His dream was to become a pilot, he said, but he can now only do light duties. He is claiming damages for pain and suffering and the loss if income.

The SANDF said that Etsebeth was a permanent member of the defence force and that the accident happened in the scope of his employment. The SANDF argued that Etsebeth may not claim damages, as the case was a matter for the Compensation Commissioner.

An anti-poaching operation led by the Defence Force in Paternoster went disastrously wrong when angry crowds turned on armed soldiers and police, forcing a helicopter to airlift personnel from the beach and others to flee in their cars, according to eyewitnesses.

The drama began on Saturday morning when a light aircraft had flown at "low level" around fishing boats off Paternoster and the village, said Michael Hainebach of Cape Town, one of a group renting a cottage overlooking the beach last weekend.

"Then around lunchtime, as several small fishing boats were heading for shore, a large red and white helicopter suddenly appeared and started circling the boats still at sea and those that had already landed."

As Hainebach and his friends watched, the helicopter landed on the beach.

"Nine men in military uniforms with automatic rifles and what appeared to be three men dressed in luminous orange and yellow traffic police bibs, spewed from the chopper and confronted the fishermen hauling in the boats. And they were joined on the beach by two official-looking cars," Hainebach said.

At the same time the helicopter took off and began passes over several boats that were approaching the shore, with the crews frantically throwing their catches overboard.

By this time a crowd of angry locals had begun gathering on the beach and hurling abuse at the authorities.

And several men in a boat that had just beached grabbed some bags and boxes and raced off into the village, according to another eyewitness, Forrest Holleman.

By this stage more than 100 people had gathered on the beach and were becoming increasingly angry. "Many were shouting obscenities and menacing threats," said Holleman.

The helicopter crew, realising forces on the beach were in danger, landed and plucked the embattled raiders to safety.

Mareka Brandt, spokeswoman for Marine and Coastal Management, said the raid at Paternoster was part of a joint anti-crime operation involving the agency's inspectors, the SANDF, local police and the traffic department.

A total of 17 arrests had been made.

"According to a report we have received, our men pulled out before anything went wrong," she said.

With the price of South Africa's peacekeeping mission in Sudan's troubled Darfur region reaching about R100 million for the troops stationed there, the mission is increasingly stretching the budget of the South African National Defence Force, a Department of Foreign Affairs official says.

And it is not only South Africa but also the African Union that is feeling the financial pressure from keeping a peacekeeping force and protecting the local civilian population in the vast area of western Sudan that is Darfur, parliament's Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs heard.

Keeping South Africa's 314 "boots on the ground" in Darfur was not "inexpensive", said Jessie Duarte, the deputy director-general on the DFA's Africa multilateral desk.

She said the price of keeping these troops there was "leaning towards" R100 million out of the SANDF budget.

Apart from the 314 SANDF troops members in the Sudan, there are also 125 SA Police Service members assisting with policing there, according to DFA.

The African Union, which is managing the peacekeeping operation there under the AMIS force mandated by the AU's Peace and Security Council, is also feeling the financial pressure of the Darfur conflict and even international donors are beginning to hold back.

Ms Duarte's colleague, Kingsley Makhubela, the DFA's chief director for East Africa, told MPs that "the AU does not have adequate funds to continue the operation in Darfur and the donor countries are not willing to continue to contribute [there]".

The United Nations is, however, expected to take over the peacekeeping mission later this year.

The AU Peace and Security Council decided at a meeting last week to extend the mandate of the AMIS (the African Union Mission in Sudan) until September 30, after which the UN is expected to assume responsibility.

This "rehatting" - from the AU peacekeepers to the UN's blue helmets - comes after the AU's Peace and Security Council, using uncharacteristically strong language, "demanded" that the parties involved in the conflict there demonstrate a commitment to bringing the conflict in Darfur to an end and conclude a peace agreement by the end of April.

The transition from AMIS to the UN's blue helmets was discussed by President Thabo Mbeki and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Cape Town on Tuesday, with President Mbeki later reaffirming to reporters that the United Nations would be taking over from the AMIS force.

But the United Nations, according to its mandate, can only move in once a ceasefire is in place.

This gives the situation more urgency, and the AU is likely to bring more pressure to bear on the conflicting parties - the government of Sudan, which has been accused of being supportive of the notorious Janjaweed militia, and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement - to move rapidly towards an agreement.

South Africa was keeping "a daily watch" on developments in Sudan, said Ms Duarte, underlying the urgency with which the situation was being regarded.

Mr Makhubela told MPs that international donors were increasingly linking aid to the south of Sudan - which was undergoing reconstruction, assisted heavily by South Africa, after a protracted war with the north that ended the signing of Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed last year - with progress towards peace in Darfur.

Worsening the situation is the fact that the Sudanese government has been moving the troops it had stationed in the south to Darfur, according to the DFA. This is in violation of a UN Security Council resolution and is exacerbating the conflict in the Darfur region.

Aside from having peacekeeping troops in Darfur under the AU mandate, South Africa has not yet been directly involved in the peace process in Darfur, having focused - successfully - its efforts at stabilizing the long-troubled south of Sudan.

The peace talks on Darfur that have been continuing in Abuja, Nigeria, have been criticized for more moving too slowly and both sides in the negotiations have been accused of breaching ceasefire agreements, MPs learned.

A United Nations panel has already proposed that sanctions be imposed against several senior Sudanese officials and rebel leaders for impeding peace efforts, and has even indicated, according to a DFA briefing paper, that it is considering calling for punitive measures against the presidents of both Sudan and neighbouring Chad.

Relations between these two countries have soured over accusations by both of supporting rebel activity in their respective territories as the conflict starts to spill over the border with Sudan's western neighbour.

The UN news agency IRIN reported this week that African Union mediators in Abuja have proposed putting rival forces in Sudan's Darfur conflict behind buffer zones after ceasefire agreements have been repeatedly ignored.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said this week that the deteriorating security situation in eastern Chad was forcing it to relocate thousands of refugees away from the border region and further into Chad.

UNHCR also reported that some Chadians were even fleeing into Darfur to escape violence on their side of the border.

A prisoner was found dead after convicts torched part of a gaol at Makhado on Tuesday night, police said.

Limpopo police spokesman Superintendent Ailwei Mushavhanamadi said on Wednesday that junior warders at the prison were on strike and only senior jailers were on duty.

Police and SANDF members had been called in to assist in guarding the prisoners.

The prisoners had also gone on strike and rubber bullets had been fired to prevent them from "running away" about 9.45pm, Mushavhanamadi said.

A prisoner, aged 37, was later found dead and another injured.

The situation had since normalised and the convicts, most of whom were serving life or lengthy sentences, had returned to their cells.

The jail block that had been torched housed offices and damage amounted to about R1 million.