Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

A total of 5452 new recruits will join the defence force in January 2009, the SANDF said in a statement on Wednesday.

They would begin basic training with either the Army, Navy, Air Force or Military Health Service. After this they could chose training in specific careers, including pilots, air space controllers, engineers, medical practitioners, naval combat officers, technicians and divers.

The intake in January this year was 4280. The defence force expected the number of recruits to increase to 10,000 by 2010.

A total of 5452 new recruits will join the defence force in January 2009, the SANDF said in a statement on Wednesday.

They would begin basic training with either the Army, Navy, Air Force or Military Health Service. After this they could chose training in specific careers, including pilots, air space controllers, engineers, medical practitioners, naval combat officers, technicians and divers.

The intake in January this year was 4280. The defence force expected the number of recruits to increase to 10,000 by 2010.

THE South African Navy may have recently received new submarines and frigates to patrol SA’s seas and coastal areas, but its acquisitions are far from over.

Apart from the controversial corvettes and submarines that form part of the R47,4bn arms deal, the navy needs to equip itself for new crimes such as piracy, terrorism, human trafficking and drug smuggling that crime syndicates often commit in unguarded coastal and riverine areas.

The navy says it has taken stock of these activities and has set up a specialised unit to tackle criminal and terror threats that the country has long been unable to address because of a lack of human and technological resources.

The unit is the first Maritime Reaction Squadron to be set up since the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was established in 1994, and this time the navy is looking to a local company for its new boats.

When recently commissioning the squadron, navy chief

V-Adm Johannes Mudimu promised to provide proper equipment.

Mudimu says inland areas require different kinds of equipment to enable the maritime reaction squadron to conduct successful operations in awkward coastal and riverine areas.

According to Cpt Nick Marais, the navy’s inshore and riverine equipment acquisition programme, code-named Project Xena, will involve the purchase of 16 boats, trailers for the boats, and a floating jetty.

Since the squadron’s operations will involve leaving the headquarters for months to patrol once unguarded dams and rivers, Marais — who is Xena project officer — says this has necessitated the purchase of a mobile base camp that will be equipped with command, control and communications technology. It also means that transport for this equipment to various locations, as well as appropriate armaments, is required.

The navy is evaluating its prototype Project Xena riverine patrol boat that was delivered to the squadron in Simon’s Town this month.

Marais says the navy has ordered five of the 16 boats it requires for rigorous testing. Each of these specially designed boats costs at least R4m, and will be tested and modified to suit the needs of the unit’s multi-functional expectations.

All five boats will be delivered by the end of the military’s year, in March. The remaining ones will be delivered over the next three years, and will incorporate adjustments from the lessons learnt from the prototype trials.

Marais says the navy is proud of the fact that it ordered the boats from the Cape Town-based Vee Craft Marine (VCM) company under a fixed-price contract.

“This means that we are recognising our local expertise and talent, and that we are spending the resources we have right here at home … I believe that is value for money and that the navy is doing its share in the development of our economy.”

Asked why the VCM company was considered a viable partner, Marais says although the prototype has been designed internally by navy technicians, the VCM company became the natural choice because it is regarded as expert in aluminium hull design. “We came to the conclusion that aluminium is quite easy to maintain; it is lighter, but stronger.

“When you deploy outside our borders and you get damage to your hull, it is extremely difficult under rough conditions to repair glass fibre (commonly used by other boat manufacturers). With the aluminium, you just weld on a patch and the boat is ready to function,” Marais says.

He says the Xena boat has been fitted with built-in water jets so it can cross sandbanks, vegetation and shallows. It will be tested not only in SA’s waters but in major African rivers and lakes.

According to Capt Solly Petersen, commanding officer of the Maritime Reaction Squadron, the targeted lakes include Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi, which were some of the training venues for members of the squadron in an effort to help them acclimatise to the challenging African terrain.

The navy has been using Namacurra class harbour patrol boats. The special squadrons have been given at least six of these patrol boats and six Lima utility landing craft. Both types are fitted with outboard motors.

Marais says with the new prototype, the boats will make riverine areas economical to patrol. These boats will enable the marines to intercept or interdict illegal activities because “they have a very high thrust-to-power ratio and are faster than the aging Namacurra”.

The boat takes a crew of four and can carry six reaction force division commandos. The area where the commandos are carried can also be used for cargo. “It’s just four clips, the seats come out and cargo goes in,” Marais says.

Petersen adds that the boats can easily be used for medical support and disaster relief, which has been a required feature of boats ordered by some of the Southern African Development Community countries.

SA, Zambia and Mozambique are prone to floods, which make overland rescue operations difficult. Petersen argues that this kind of boat would be ideal because “it can go into shallow water, bring out people in remote and distressed areas and take in food and water”.

Marais fondly refers to the boat as a “multipurpose pickup truck on water” that can easily transport eight personnel or 1500kg of equipment or disaster relief provisions.

He says because the boats will be equipped with advanced communications equipment, SA’s foreign policy of peaceful resolutions in conflict areas and providing disaster relief in distressed regions could be a model for United Nations operations.

The squadron is being trained to offer all kinds of assistance, including fighting unconventional threats to the state and providing support to peacekeeping operations. Petersen says the unit will soon have the necessary equipment to carry out its functions, including the capability to defend SANDF peacekeeping forces.

With light machine guns on board these boats will not only ensure “the safety of our deployed peacekeeping soldiers, but sustain the integrity of the country’s foreign policy”.

It is not surprising that the failure by former defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota and his deputy Mluleki George to transform the defence force left many middle and senior SANDF members aggrieved.

Findings by the auditor-general led to a qualified audit as a result of the SANDF’s failure to advance historically disadvantaged people in the army. We did not know then that Lekota allowed his narrow-minded, selfish understanding of affirmative action (AA) to deprive hundreds of people of benefits with regard to promotion and recruitment practices.

The birth of Cope has exposed how cruel Lekota can be when given unchecked authority. The SANDF is one of the most untransformed national departments because of his incompetence and naivety of AA and black economic empowerment.

These are corrective measures of historical inequalities which empowered one race at the expense of the Black majority, particularly Africans.

How can Cope defend and advance our democracy when they want to undo what the Constitution provides? Why should AA and BEE go simply because Lekota and his ilk are now filthy rich and affirmed? The real Congress of the People (ANC) should never agree to this anti-revolutionary stance.

Apart from the controversial corvettes and submarines that form part of the R47 ,4bn arms deal, the navy needs to equip itself for new crimes such as piracy, terrorism, human trafficking and drug smuggling that crime syndicates often commit in unguarded coastal and riverine areas.

The navy says it has taken stock of these activities and has set up a specialised unit to tackle criminal and terror threats that the country has long been unable to address because of a lack of human and technological resources.

The unit is the first Maritime Reaction Squadron to be set up since the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was established in 1994 , and this time the navy is looking to a local company for its new boats.

When recently commissioning the squadron, navy chief

V-Adm Johannes Mudimu promised to provide proper equipment.

Mudimu says inland areas require different kinds of equipment to enable the maritime reaction squadron to conduct successful operations in awkward coastal and riverine areas.

According to Cpt Nick Marais, the navy's inshore and riverine equipment acquisition programme, code-named Project Xena, will involve the purchase of 16 boats, trailers for the boats, and a floating jetty.

Since the squadron's operations will involve leaving the headquarters for months to patrol once unguarded dams and rivers, Marais -- who is Xena project officer -- says this has necessitated the purchase of a mobile base camp that will be equipped with command, control and communications technology. It also means that transport for this equipment to various locations, as well as appropriate armaments, is required.

The navy is evaluating its prototype Project Xena riverine patrol boat that was delivered to the squadron in Simon's Town this month .

Marais says the navy has ordered five of the 16 boats it requires for rigorous testing. Each of these specially designed boats costs at least R4m, and will be tested and modified to suit the needs of the unit's multi-functional expectations.

All five boats will be delivered by the end of the military's year, in March. The remaining ones will be delivered over the next three years, and will incorporate adjustments from the lessons learnt from the prototype trials .

Marais says the navy is proud of the fact that it ordered the boats from the Cape Town-based Vee Craft Marine (VCM) company under a fixed-price contract.

"This means that we are recognising our local expertise and talent, and that we are spending the resources we have right here at home ... I believe that is value for money and that the navy is doing its share in the development of our economy."

Asked why the VCM company was considered a viable partner, Marais says although the prototype has been designed internally by navy technicians , the VCM company became the natural choice because it is regarded as expert in aluminium hull design. "We came to the conclusion that aluminium is quite easy to maintain; it is lighter, but stronger.

"When you deploy outside our borders and you get damage to your hull, it is extremely difficult under rough conditions to repair glass fibre (commonly used by other boat manufacturers). With the aluminium, you just weld on a patch and the boat is ready to function," Marais says.

He says the Xena boat has been fitted with built-in water jets so it can cross sandbanks, vegetation and shallows. It will be tested not only in SA's waters but in major African rivers and lakes .

According to Capt Solly Petersen, commanding officer of the Maritime Reaction Squadron, the targeted lakes include Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi, which were some of the training venues for members of the squadron in an effort to help them acclimatise to the challenging African terrain.

The navy has been using Namacurra class harbour patrol boats. The special squadrons have been given at least six of these patrol boats and six Lima utility landing craft. Both types are fitted with outboard motors.

Marais says with the new prototype, the boats will make riverine areas economical to patrol . These boats will enable the marines to intercept or interdict illegal activities because "they have a very high thrust-to-power ratio and are faster than the aging Namacurra".

The boat takes a crew of four and can carry six reaction force division commandos. The area where the commandos are carried can also be used for cargo. "It's just four clips, the seats come out and cargo goes in," Marais says.

Petersen adds that the boats can easily be used for medical support and disaster relief, which has been a required feature of boats ordered by some of the Southern African Development Community countries.

SA, Zambia and Mozambique are prone to floods, which make overland rescue operations difficult. Petersen argues that this kind of boat would be ideal because "it can go into shallow water, bring out people in remote and distressed areas and take in food and water".

Marais fondly refers to the boat as a "multipurpose pickup truck on water" that can easily transport eight personnel or 1500kg of equipment or disaster relief provisions.

He says because the boats will be equipped with advanced communications equipment, SA's foreign policy of peaceful resolutions in conflict areas and providing disaster relief in distressed regions could be a model for United Nations operations.

The squadron is being trained to offer all kinds of assistance, including fighting unconventional threats to the state and providing support to peacekeeping operations. Petersen says the unit will soon have the necessary equipment to carry out its functions, including the capability to defend SANDF peacekeeping forces.

With light machine guns on board these boats will not only ensure "the safety of our deployed peacekeeping soldiers, but sustain the integrity of the country's foreign policy".

December 16, the Day of Reconciliation, was an historical event this year.

The ANC and its president, Jacob Zuma, celebrated the old times of Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) which was disbanded many years ago.

The breakaway group, the Congress of the People (Cope), was also launched. Mosiuoa Lekota and Mbhazima Shilowa were elected president and deputy-president respectively.

In Pretoria, President Kgalema Motlanthe and former president Thabo Mbeki attended a government function with Dr Pallo Jordan, who recently admired Mbeki’s brilliance.

Was Mbeki invited by the ANC because he was once Zuma’s commander in Swaziland? It is up to the public to make a rational choice about their representatives of the future.

Certainly, for me, it is not Zuma. At the Zuma rally, young people who never participated in MK were given military uniforms.

Zuma, like Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, invokes the spirit of liberation armies whenever the ANC faces their mistakes.

Motlanthe and Lekota talked mainly about challenges of the future – not what happened in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The past is very important, but people are not looking forward to the past.

Fifteen years after liberation, people are still seeking jobs, food, security, houses and education.

Again Zuma made populist promises to care for MK soldiers who deserted the SANDF or took packages. Some of the 50 so-called MK soldiers are young and were younger than 20 years old in 1994. If Zuma will cater for these lazy people, he must also accommodate the IFP’s self-protection units.

My choice in 2009 will be a party that looks forward to the future, certainly not the ANC of Zuma that is preoccupied with the past.

Since the establishment of the Military Skills Development System (MSDS) in 2003, the SANDF has recruited and trained more than 20000 applicants, equipping them with scarce skills.

Trainees included aspiring pilots, engineers, medical practitioners, combat navy officers, air space controllers and technicians.

Defence spokesman Sam Mkwanazi said yesterday the MSDS was designed to address the skills challenges in the SANDF, which inherited an ageing force. "The department wants to play a role in ensuring that the country gets the scarce skills it requires."

He said the government had allocated R700m for the scaling-up of the programme. About R100m was earmarked for the programme in 2008-09, doubling to R200m in 2009-10.

Typical candidates are matriculants with passes in maths, biology, physical science and geography.

Next month about 5450 recruits will join the SANDF, in addition to the military's regular recruits.

After the first two years, successful candidates may join the military, often on short contracts and could be earmarked for officer corps or further professional training. Trainees also beco me members of the military reserve force.

Lindy Heinecken, a military analyst at Stellenbosch University, said it was important for the military to take in more cadets as the dropout rate was high. The SANDF also did not have enough personnel to rotate on peacekeeping missions. "The defence force is not able to meet its peacekeeping obligations if it does not increase the numbers ."

About 3000 SANDF personnel were deployed mainly in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and Sudan.

Last week the Young Communist League called for the adoption of national service, especially military training that would give matriculants discipline .

South Africa’s defence force has had to content with its fair share of controversy this year as it battled to ensure that its fighting forces are healthy, properly trained and equipped to carry out various tasks at home and across the continent.

The decommissioning and sale of the air force’s Cheetah fighter squadron and the loss of scores of pilots and ground crew have seen the air force battling to keep itself afloat as it awaits the delivery of state-of-the-art Gripen fighter jets which are expected to be fully commissioned by 2012.

The sale, along with no medium nor long range anti-aircraft missiles means that South Africa has been left with virtually no fighter cover or air defence capabilities needed to protect its ground forces and cities should a major crisis erupt.

While four of the Gripens have arrived, it is still a long way until the full complement of 24 is acquired.

This, along with the admission by the SANDF’s Surgeon-General Vejay Ramlakan that 28% of the defence force, which mirrors the country’s population, is infected with HIV/Aids, shows the crisis facing the defence force as it enters 2009.

The alarming disclosure comes after the army sharply criticised the Pretoria High Court for ruling that the army could not discriminate against people infected with HIV/Aids.

The criticism was by army chief, Lieutenant-General Solly Shoke, who said to defend and protect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the army required fit and healthy soldiers.

Shoke, in his annual state of the army media briefing, criticised the court, saying it unfortunately had not considered the broader picture when making its ruling.

The ruling – that the SANDF had six months to formulate a new health classification and testing policy – was made after the South African Security Forces Union and the Aids Law Project (ALP) turned to the high court to have the SANDF’s policy regarding HIV-infected people set aside.

The ruling came months after a sex scandal rocked the South African Military Health Services.

In February, Pretoria police along with their military counterparts openly clashed with military medical students during a raid following apparent drunken “sex orgies” at defence force barracks in Thaba Tshwane.

The clashes forced MPs to request back-up from the Pretoria flying squad and surrounding city police stations after they were attacked with bottles, furniture and other objects when they tried to restore order after over 100 students barricaded roads within the Military Health Training Formation compound with tables, dustbins and chairs as they partied through the early hours of the morning.

During the clashes, students, many of whom were caught in the throes of various sexual exploits with civilians, took control of strategic positions on stairwells and in passageways as police stormed the barracks.

Another controversy which haunted the defence force this year was the report about nine anti-aircraft gunners who were killed last year during the annual army combat readiness exercise, Exercise Seboka.

The report, made public by then defence force minister Mosiuoa Lekota at the beginning of the year, showed that a mechanical failure had led to the deaths and the injury of 15 others.

According to Lekota, the mechanical failure occurred when a metal pin on a Swiss/German Oerlikon 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft gun sheared during a live firing exercise at the army’s combat training centre in Lohatla.

Lekota claimed the failure was caused by a known defect, which was allegedly kept secret by the gun manufacturers, Oerlikon Contraves AG (OCAG), based in Switzerland.

It appears nothing has come from Lekota’s allegations.

However, a high note appeared to be the arrival of the US nuclear aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt in Cape Town, showing the belief and increasing interest foreign navies have in South Africa as a powerful naval ally, especially when it comes to the continent’s defence.

Another high was the arrival of the navy’s third submarine, SAS Queen Modjadji I, which sank various foreign vessels during an international maritime exercise while coming home on its maiden voyage from Germany where it was built.

Exercise Atlasur 7 saw the Modjadji pitted against some of the world’s most sophisticated warships during the international naval exercise conducted off the South African west coast.

The soon-to-be acquired six in-shore and off-shore patrol vessels and the formation of the maritime reaction squadron (MRS) will put the navy back on the international naval power map.

The new vessels, along with the MRS, will help South Africa to protect both the continent’s and its own coastal and inland waters from foreign aggression, terrorists and criminals such as pirates and poachers out to plunder Africa’s sea resources.

A South African National |Defence Force helicopter and heavily armed police made |visiting the Gateway Theatre of Shopping a little more interesting and exciting yesterday.

Members of the SAPS National Intervention Unit and Special Task force literally dropped in on the shopping centre yesterday afternoon.

This was done as part of the joint initiative between the South African Council of Shopping Centres and Business Against Crime’s (BAC) bid to make the malls safer this festive season.

The policemen made a dramatic appearance, abseiling from a helicopter on to the roof of the shopping centre.

While the shoppers may have been grateful for the added security, those in the food court had to contend with their food being blown away by the helicopter.

The National Intervention Unit and Task Force members were meant to be dropped off on a grassy area near the food court, but had to change their plans and abseil on to the roof instead because of strong winds.

Metro Police, SAPS, police dogs and private security were also present in a “show of force”.

Jody Nair, provincial manager of BAC, said the aim of the initiative was to deter criminals.

“This is a high visibility operation using a multi-disciplined approach. We are using the defence force, SAPS, Metro and private security with the aim of deterring criminals. This is a show of force to say to criminals if you come to the malls, this is what you have to deal with,” he said.

Police will be deployed to the malls daily to ensure that there are no incidents.

“The defence force has scheduled drop-offs during the times when the biggest risks exist but we don’t want to divulge too much information on that,” Nair explained.

Members of the defence force, in full uniform and with all their gear, are also patrolling inside the malls.

Gateway centre manager Adrian Raw said the security measures in place at the shopping centre were to prevent crime as opposed to combating it.

“With the police, defence force and private security on patrol in the mall, criminals will be deterred from carrying out any criminal acts. Hopefully this show of force will prevent crime,” he said.

Other malls across KwaZulu-Natal will also have the same security measures in place this festive season.

The SANDF and SAPS teams also dropped by the George Campbell High School in Brickhill Road, where the public was invited to view the aircraft and take pictures.

The event was part of the festive season crime awareness programme, which has been implemented for the holiday season.

The SANDF aircraft will be used to assist the SAPS and Metro Police in fighting crime during the holiday months, when there is an influx of visitors to the city.

Insp Michael Read of the Durban Central Police Station said that a “zero tolerance approach” would be enforced during the festive period across the city. “The SAPS and other protection agencies have deployed additional manpower and resources throughout the CBD and along the beachfront to ensure a safe environment for our local people as well as visitors to the city,” he said.

Road blocks and random stop-and-searches would be conducted by police throughout the city during the next two months. Read also urged parents to be vigilant and keep and eye on their children at all times when they are out.

Christo Swart, chairman of the festive season management committee, said that a collective was looking after the safety of the public.

“This programme will be in place until mid-January, but the principles will continue throughout the year as well,” he said.

It is estimated that up to 100 000 people will visit the beachfront every day.

Give a thought this Christmas to the unsung heroes of the SAPS airwing who will be out in force |saving lives and providing support for police operations on the ground, writes Jeff Wicks

THIS Christmas, when our beaches are jam-packed and bathers get into difficulties while swimming, it is thanks to the efforts of the SAPS airwing that many lives will be saved.

Although its members generally keep out of the limelight, the dedicated team that makes up the airwing plays a pivotal role in rescue operations alongside the SAPS search-and-rescue unit.

Search-and-rescue commander Troy Allison said the airwing was critically important. Previously, “all the emergency services relied on privately sponsored surf rescue |helicopters to provide the service”.

These have been shut down|owing to lack of funding and it has created a significant void.

“The search-and-rescue unit in conjunction with the airwing are trying to fill that void as far as possible. At the weekend we were called to La Mercy lagoon where a teenager had been swept out to sea. We took off and were over the site in 14 minutes, but unfortunately the person had drowned,” Allison said.

But the airwing’s functions go well beyond sea rescues as it |provides aerial support for policemen and policewomen on the ground, and offers assistance in most policing operations.

The chief pilot, Capt Frans Haasbroek, said the airwing was kept busy, and there was never a shortage of work.

“The mandate we have is very large. On top of visible policing and crime prevention, we have provincially commissioned flights for VIPs and we aid in special task force operations where firearms are seized. With operations conducted in remote areas where transport to and from is a problem, often they are only accessible by air.

“We also do dagga spraying with the helicopters. In Winterton in the central Drakensberg at the beginning of the year we sprayed almost 1 000ha of dagga. With spraying |operations we use one helicopter for top cover surveillance while another two aircraft actually spray the plants.

“The dagga operations are |nationally driven, so they accumulate a lot of flying hours,” he said.

Dagga fields, Haasbroek added, were difficult to hide.

“With a keen eye one could easily spot a field of dagga from above, and that ability, coupled with good intelligence from police on the ground, ensures the fields won’t go unnoticed for long.

“We do surveys of a particular area to see where the fields are and then plan the spraying operation. With dagga and firearm operations we really record a lot of successes. A lot of the work we do is behind the scenes; the guys on the ground do the lion’s share and the last thing we want to do is take any credit away from them,” Haasbroek said.

In 2006/2007 the airwing boasted an impressive 298.6 flying hours attributed to dagga operations. Of the 1 163 hours logged in that year, 77% were in support and execution of crime combating activities which included vehicle and stock theft operations, unrest situations and crime callouts.

The remaining 23% of flying hours were used for training, air transport and search-and-rescue |operations within the province.

At present the Durban police airwing has four helicopters and one fixed-wing aircraft. The fourth helicopter, which was recently acquired, has full infra-red camera capability.

“We can spot suspects and cars easily at night. The helicopter is also outfitted with a powerful spotlight called the “night sun”, which is a|30-million-candle spotlight controlled by the flight officer. Its core function is providing illumination for night searches and it also serves as a deterrent for criminals; they can see us coming with that a mile away. You’d get sunburnt if you stood in front of it,” Haasbroek joked.

If needed, the police chopper can be in the air in a matter of minutes.

“We are mobilised to fly in two |different ways, the first being pre-planned community policing operations. The other is when we are called on by other members for |assistance.

“We are often called to cash-in- transit robberies and armed robberies; we go from on-the-ground to in-the-air in under five minutes with the help of air traffic controllers at Durban International Airport.”

Landing a job with the airwing was no easy task as the unit called for highly trained members.

“A potential airwing pilot would need 800 flying hours with a commercial pilot’s licence, as well as instrument and night rating. Once that person has joined the police, there is special training for slings and hoisting, deployment of personnel operations and learning to use the night sun and cameras. You have to fly in a particular way for the night sun and cameras to be effective.

“A big misconception is that if the helicopter is flying in an area, then there is a problem there. More often than not we are just doing |visible policing. If we are flying in a particular area we monitor the |radio channel and see if we can |assist the ground force members.”

One of the airwing’s most |notable successes was recorded last year when, with the help of the |police search-and-rescue unit and the SANDF 15-Squadron, it |rescued 92 people from the roof of a burning building in central Durban.

The 32-storey Seaboard hotel caught fire, with flames tearing through the seventh floor. Residents rushed to the roof, from which they were hoisted to safety.

“Ahead of the 2010 soccer World Cup we are looking at some sort of expansion. We will be looking at getting more personnel and further training is always a good thing,” said the police captain.

The 32-year-old Haasbroek said flying was a family passion.

“When I was growing up my dad was in the air force, so flying was an obvious progression for me. I was part of the Durban dog unit for three years and then decided to get my pilot’s licence and move to the airwing. For me doing something to help the community is a calling.

“In terms of flying, one of the major challenges is weather and the flying environment – we have to |constantly look out for electrical wires when we are attending to scenes. We just try to do our jobs to the best of our ability,” he said.

Working in the police unit, he said, had been the highlight of his career.

“The day I got into the SAPS airwing was the highlight of my |career. We do work long hours, often with trips far away, and I’m happy I have a supportive wife and family. They know this is what I love |doing.”

The airwing’s chief flight officer, Capt Dirk Venter, boasts an impressive 12 years of service with the airwing.

“I’m a jack of all trades really. I was at station level when I joined the police force and have dabbled in logistics and finance. I have really done a little bit of everything. I was given the opportunity to come to the airwing as an operations officer and here I am.

“We just want what every other police officer wants: to provide |service delivery effectively. It really is a critically important thing.”

He emphasised the need for strong family bonds in such a |stressful field.

“I’ve had 38 years with my wife – she knew what she was getting into when she married me and she’s been really supportive – to tell the truth, I’m also looking forward to pension.”

Haasbroek said that Venter was his second pair of eyes in the air, and that without him he would not be able to get the job done.

“It is a very physical job with all the concentration, not only on the part of the pilot but from the flight crew as well. The crewman is the second pair of eyes. I couldn’t do my job without him. It is a field where one has to keep physically fit |because concentrating so hard on flying all the time makes one really tired.”

Le Congrès du peuple a été créé il y a deux mois par des dissidents de l'ANC restés proches de l'ancien président sud-africain Thabo Mbeki, contraint à la démission par l'ANC. Son apparition sur la scène politique est un défi sans précédent pour l'ANC depuis son accession au pouvoir en Afrique du Sud.

"L'histoire de l'Afrique du Sud ne sera plus jamais la même. Nous avons pris cette mesure parce que nous sommes le parti de l'avenir", a déclaré Mosiuoa Lekota devant environ 2.000 délégués réunis à Bloemfontein.

"Il faut combattre le chômage et favoriser la croissance économique. Notre politique est celle de la stabilité, du travail et de la croissance", a-t-il ajouté.

Mbhazima Shilowa, ancien Premier ministre de la province du Gauteng, coeur industriel du pays près de Johannesburg, a été désigné vice-président du Cope.

Le Congrès du peuple peut miser sur l'inquiétude ressentie par les électeurs de la classe moyenne et les milieux d'affaires face à l'ANC, qui reste largement perçu comme un parti orienté à gauche et proche des syndicats.

Le Congrès du peuple a décidé de se présenter aux élections prévues en mars prochain et a décliné toutes les propositions de rapprochement avancées par l'ANC.

Bien qu'une victoire semble peu probable face à l'ANC, qui a rassemblé près de deux tiers des voix lors des dernières élections, le Cope peut espérer une percée et priver l'ANC de la majorité absolue au parlement.

Des discussions sont en cours pour former une coalition avec d'autres partis d'opposition, notamment l'Alliance démocratique qui bénéficie d'un fort soutien parmi la population blanche.

Le Cope compte faire campagne sur les affaires de corruption qui touchent l'ANC, y compris son nouveau chef de file, Jacob Zuma.

L'ANC a lancé des mises en garde à ses électeurs, les appelant à ne pas se laisser tenter par le Congrès du peuple dont les dirigeants ont été qualifiés de mauvais perdants et d'hommes politiques incompétents.

It is a funny old world. A few years ago, there was a group of people who seemed determined to emasculate the South African National Defence Force by using the media to destroy the pride we, as citizens, should have in our military by continuously sneering at anything that the SANDF achieved.

Now we have the same group calling for military action against Zimbabwe, and looking most surprised when authoritative commentators inform them that, apart from the moral and/or ethical reasons why we should not invade Zimbabwe, we cannot, because their efforts have indeed been partially successful and South Africa no longer has the military capability it should have as the regional economic powerhouse.

They are also the ones who shout the loudest about the “controversial” arms deal. Everyone seems to ignore the fact that the acquisition process went through three very separate processes.

The first was some 18 months of open debate in full view of the media, in a series of public debates held at a number of venues throughout the country. In this process, everyone with any interest in defence matters, be they negative or positive, could and did participate.

At its conclusion, foreign diplomatic representatives observed that this was the most public and open debate of a country’s defence requirements that they had come across anywhere in the world.

This first process established clearly, and very publicly, the needs of the SANDF and the minimum force levels that should be maintained; in the case of the navy, ships and submarines.

Based on these, the second process was initiated. Here the navy spent much time and energy assessing the suitability of various proposed designs for ships and submarines submitted from all over the world.

Although, for very obvious reasons, far less public than the first process, this can also be demonstrated to have been clear of corruption, except in the minds of some whose bids were not accepted.

Anyway, those involved were not to make the final contractual decisions; they merely listed those proposals that met the operational criteria of the navy.

These acceptable proposals now went into the third and final process; this was the final decision at political level as to which of the designs would be ordered.

It is only in this third process that valid grounds for accusations of corruption occur. We must also be honest and accept that part, if not all, of the lobbying on this controversy was most probably instigated and financially supported by some of those who failed to get a contract. Thereafter, party politics took over.

I strongly support the calls for an independent inquest into this third process, if for no other reason than to clear the air, to stop opposition politicians making demeaning, throwaway, snide comments in the media about the navy and the other services, comfortable in the knowledge that the navy cannot reply in kind.

Announcing the commissioning of the first maritime reaction squadron since the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was established in 1994, Mudimu said navies throughout the world were being confronted with maritime threats.

These come from criminal elements committing acts of piracy, terrorism, human trafficking and drug smuggling — while using sophisticated weapons.

He said criminals were taking advantage of countries with weak navies that were unable to patrol their waters.

By establishing the rapid reaction squadron, the navy planned to build up capacity to conduct interdiction, patrol and escort operations in coastal, lake, and riverine areas.

Mudimu said a collective approach was required by navies to counter maritime threats through joint patrols and the exchange of information within a state's security establishments.

He said if the Mumbai kind of threat was to be avoided, communities living near rivers and in coastal areas needed to be observant and encouraged to report suspicious activities.

“What gives (a community member) doubt might be the indication that an illegal activity is about to take place," he said.

The squadron has been specially trained by various units of the SANDF, including the infantry and special forces, as well as being trained in maritime legal expertise to acquire various skills so they can board suspicious ships to counter criminal and illegal activities at sea.

They will be able to help the police and environmental policing units in efforts to combat smuggling and poaching.

The chief director of maritime strategy, R-Adm Bernard Teuteberg, said the squadron would also have operational diving capability and would help in disaster operations.

He said the unit would always be “lean and mean" because of the physical demands of its tasks, which require high levels of fitness and agility on land and water.

Announcing the commissioning of the first maritime reaction squadron since the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was established in 1994, Mudimu said navies throughout the world were being confronted with maritime threats.

These come from criminal elements committing acts of piracy, terrorism, human trafficking and drug smuggling - while using sophisticated weapons.

He said criminals were taking advantage of countries with weak navies that were unable to patrol their waters.

By establishing the rapid reaction squadron, the navy planned to build up capacity to conduct interdiction, patrol and escort operations in coastal, lake, and riverine areas.

Mudimu said a collective approach was required by navies to counter maritime threats through joint patrols and the exchange of information within a state's security establishments.

He said if the Mumbai kind of threat was to be avoided, communities living near rivers and in coastal areas needed to be observant and encouraged to report suspicious activities.

"What gives (a community member) doubt might be the indication that an illegal activity is about to take place," he said.

The squadron has been specially trained by various units of the SANDF, including the infantry and special forces, as well as being trained in maritime legal expertise to acquire various skills so they can board suspicious ships to counter criminal and illegal activities at sea.

They will be able to help the police and environmental policing units in efforts to combat smuggling and poaching.

The chief director of maritime strategy, R-Adm Bernard Teuteberg, said the squadron would also have operational diving capability and would help in disaster operations.

He said the unit would always be "lean and mean" because of the physical demands of its tasks, which require high levels of fitness and agility on land and water.

In 1992, an American civil society activist with the name Richard Holbrook witnessed the beginnings of a slaughter on a large scale of the Muslims of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Serb soldiers and militia. He used every trick in the book to get the US and European governments to intervene, but that didn’t happen until late 1995.

By the time Holbrook eventually brokered a peace agreement in 1996, tens of thousands of people were dead and many thousands raped and brutalised.

In 1994 the head of the UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda, General Romeo Dallaire, requested reinforcements and permission to be more pro-active when he received information that Hutu militants were preparing for a genocide of Tutsis. Both requests were denied, and instead his force was made smaller and eventually told to withdraw. He refused, but he could not prevent the slaughter of nearly a million people in just 100 days.

I was reminded of these events when I watched an excellent CNN documentary on the weekend, called Scream Bloody Murder.

Immediately after the documentary I switched to a disturbing special report by Sky News of the unfolding cholera tragedy in Zimbabwe. I knew the children I saw being laid out on makeshift beds would probably be dead before the day was out.

We are doing it again. We are again watching a people suffer and die in great numbers and we’re doing nothing. This time the shame is more on us South Africans than on anyone else.

By last night some 600 Zimbabweans were already died and about 14 000 infected with cholera. The World Health organisation says 30 000 people are likely to be infected in the next few days. The opposition politician David Coltart told a seminar on Zimbabwe in Cape Town on Tuesday night that he was told by doctors of Medicins Sans Frontieres that up to 1,4-million people could die if nothing drastic was done.

With the very high HIV-infection rate in Zimbabwe and severe food shortages and malnutrition, many people have little resistance to the cholera and die quickly. It is feared that the crisis could become a full-blown catastrophe once the rainy season starts, which could be any day now.

The failure is that of our former president, Thabo Mbeki; of his successor, Kgalema Motlanthe; of our minister of Foreign Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma; of the new leader of the ANC, Jacob Zuma; and of their counterparts in the governments of the other countries neighbouring Zimbabwe.

These are the people who have aided and abetted Robert Mugabe and reinstalled him as president of his country after he lost the elections almost 10 months ago. These are the people who are trying to force the man and party who won the elections, Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change, into an inferior position in a joint government with Mugabe as head of state.

The two men who spoke at this week’s Zimbabwe seminar organised by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, Professor John Makumbe and Coltart, agreed with Tsvangirai’s often-stated position that any effort to effect regime change should be peaceful. This should be a sobering shot of cold water in the faces of those South African hotheads who are talking about uprisings and military solutions.

Both men said the chances of an uprising inside the country was highly unlikely, as the men who should be in the forefront of such an uprising are mostly living in Johannesburg and elsewhere in South Africa or Botswana.

Makumbe made it clear that the Zanu-PF army was utterly ruthless and would kill 50 000 people without blinking an eye. There are elements in the army, he said, who would easily turn Zimbabwe into the state that lawless Somalia is in today.

The solution is clearly that South Africa and SADC should adjust the agreement between Zanu-PF and the MDC to a workable solution reflecting the election results, and for that government to then govern with the full support of every state in the region – perhaps under the watchful eye of a permanent SADC or AU representative in Harare. If the ANC can develop the political will to act decisively in Zimbabwe, the rest of the SADC will follow.

But that debate is for tomorrow and next week. Today we have to do what we humanly can to stop more people from dying.

If South Africa had acted correctly during its liaison with Mugabe over the last decade, these people would not be dying. Their deaths are on our consciences.

I cannot see any other solution right now than to throw open our borders and to help anyone who wants to flee from hunger, disease and oppression to come to South Africa. Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia should do the same. There will be enough medical volunteers to help state and SANDF doctors to set up emergency field hospitals.

Desperate Zimbabweans are coming here anyway; we might as well decriminalise their migration and make a real difference to thousands of lives.

The major internal security development in South Africa recently has been the outbreak of very seriousanti-immigrant riots in a number of areas of the country. The wave of violence, much of which wasconcentrated in and around Gauteng province and the Johannesburg area, started on May 11 and over therest of the month led to the death of 62 people, with hundreds injured, and tens of thousands displacedfrom shantytowns where they were living to new makeshift camps. This situation stabilised in June withSouth Africa Troops subsequently withdrawn from Johannesburg, Cape Town townships. Most internallydisplaced persons (IDPs) reportedly returned to neighbouring states and on June 12 the governmentannounced plan to reintegrate some 20,000 remaining IDPs before closing camps in two months.

However, at the heart of the problem lies the large influx of immigrants from neighbouring countries,especially from Zimbabwe, and observers have said that the political and economic crisis withinZimbabwe has been so acute that the flow of emigrants leaving that country did not appear to havediminished. Although many immigrants have considered returning to their home countries, a furtherescalation in Zimbabwe's political crisis could trigger a new wave of refugees entering South Africa,which could lead to a worsening in unemployment and increase competition for local resources. Wetherefore believe that the recent outbreak of violence in South Africa could significantly harden the rulingAfrican National Congress (ANC)'s stance towards Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe. Whilemilitary action is not a policy option, the South African government could opt for economic sanctions toput pressure on the Zimbabwean authorities. That said, possible political repercussions from interventionand Zimbabwe's status as a historic long-term ally could prevent the South African government fromtaking any decisive action at all.

In our view, a further likely deterioration of the domestic growth outlook and surging inflationarypressures add another dimension of risk to social stability. Indeed, while we forecast that real GDPgrowth will decelerate by two percentage points to 3.1% in 2008 (thus increasing the risk of job losses),we expect headline inflation to remain relatively high in 2008 and ease to 8.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) atthe end of the year, down from an expected peak at around 12.0% in Q308 (as projected by the SouthAfrican Reserve Bank, SARB). Although declining, it is noteworthy that the decrease in inflation will bemainly due to base effects during the latter half of H208 and not because of underlying disinflationarytrends. As a result, the burden of inflation will be maintained on consumers and is therefore likely tocontinue to weigh on social stability.

Aside from violence and deteriorating economic conditions, we believe that the ongoing internal divisionswithin the ANC will also fuel political uncertainty and will remain a risk to policy continuity for quitesome time. In September 2008 Thabo Mbeki was forced to resign, and was replaced as interim presidentby Kgalema Molanthe. Rightly or wrongly, Mbeki has been accused of providing insufficient leadershipto the ANC and the country as a whole, facing severe criticism over his government's inability to preventthe attacks on foreigners and over his allegedly ineffective 'silent diplomacy' strategy in Zimbabwe. Withpresidential elections due in 2009, Jacob Zuma therefore remains the current favourite to win, havingreceived the backing of the ruling ANC at its annual conference in late 2007. While the power strugglebetween Mbeki and Zuma will likely have taken a toll on South African politics, we believe that the ANCis unwilling to give in to the growing demands made by the trade unions and the communist party. Sowhile we believe that South Africa is far off from surrendering its market economy to a centralisedplanning model, the differences nevertheless depict the ideological gap between the ANC and COSATUand SACP, could give rise to further rifts in the future.

Internally, South Africa faces the daunting challenges of an anti-immigrant xenophobia, well-establishedorganised crime and drug trafficking networks, vast wealth disparities, and high levels of HIV infectionwithin its population. Yet its security concerns also extend beyond its borders. Recent restructuring andmoves to modernise the South African armed forces have created the best-equipped and most advancedmilitary on the African Continent. As the hegemonic power, particularly in the southern Great Lakesregion, it has a heavy involvement in the continent's trouble spots in terms of securityforces/peacekeepingdeployments. While the numerous security threats in the region have the potential to destabiliseSouth Africa on a variety of levels, the potential for its neighbours - particularly Zimbabwe - todestabilise it, economically and politically, is especially strong.

The defence industry witnessed major upheavals with the lifting of the arms embargoes on South Africawhich led to increased competition from foreign companies. With the South African National DefenceForce (SANDF) no longer a captive customer of the sector, companies have had to shed large sections oftheir workforce, leading to dwindling numbers. Recent procurement packages may be the first step inreversing this trend. However, arms imports should increase substantially with the delivery of the majorweapons platforms recently ordered by the government, particularly with the recent normalisation ofrelations between the US and South Africa. The future of the South African defence industry depends onits successful breaking into international markets. Joint ventures (JVs) will aid the country in gaining atechnological lead in key areas. Currently, the biggest single long-term problem within the defenceindustry is the lack of research and development (R&D), funding and policy. Arms exports are proving amore vital area of sales for South African defence companies, and should be the main catalyst for anygrowth in the industry. Encouraging figures from key defence companies seem to suggest that the defenceindustry is growing and making inroads into international export markets.

FROM time to time I am able, tucked away as I am in my once racially-segregated suburban backwater, to bring readers a tidbit of news. But, every so often I chance, in my varied experience as a reporter, to come upon something worth passing on, although the tidbit I am about to stagger you with dates back, I am afraid, to 1980, a year already made memorable by Iranian militants who stormed the United States Embassy in Teheran a year earlier and took approximately 70 Americans captive.

This terrorist act triggered the most profound crisis of US President Jimmy Carter's presidency and began a personal ordeal for Carter and the American people that lasted 444 days. The good news is that although Carter's actions brought freedom for the hostages, it cost him a second term presidency.

In November that year, I was in the US with a group of about 45 journalists from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, at the invitation of the Americans, to get some insights into their life and in particular, to gain first hand experience of their democracy in action. Colleagues, Dennis Pather, ZB Molefe, Derrick Thema and Zelda Youngbloed, were the South Africans in the contingent of hacks from the 'third world'. As we criss-crossed the country from coast-to-coast, my room-mates for six weeks were the BBC's Africa Editor, Baboucar Gaye of the Gambia, and Peter Kareithi, News Editor of The Nation in Kenya.

Last Saturday I was pleasantly surprised to hear the mellifluous voice of Baboucar during an interview with SABC Radio News correspondent in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mahlatsi Gallant. Baboucar has swapped his pen for the sword - hopefully not for long - now that he's taken on a new role from being a newshound to that of UN Force Commander in the DRC, trying to restore peace and stability in that strife-torn country.

Like the Scottish pipe band that opened proceedings at the 113th anniversary celebration of the South African National Defence Force's 1 Medical Battalion Group at army command in Old Fort Road, Durban, also last Saturday, this is perhaps as good a time to sound the drum roll back home. The birthday celebration also coincided with the launch of a civilian-military co-operation initiative.

Spearheading the public and private sector project were Durban businessman, Lall Bridgnun, lawyer Vasie Chetty, Colonel Dr DV Perumal, Chief of Staff Lt Col DV Ndlovu and Sergeant Major K Harker. 1 Medical Battalion Group is the South African Military Health Services' Reserve Force. The force has descended from medical officers and ambulance personnel from units like the Natal Naval Volunteers and the Natal Carbineers.

The corps was mobilised in 1899 for the Anglo-Boer War where it served during the siege of Ladysmith, and in 1906 for the Bambata Rebellion when it worked alongside the Indian Bearer Corps headed by one Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - yes, him who later became a Mahatma.

Brig General PJ Oelofse, who deputed for the SANDF's Surgeon General, Lt General Vijay Ramlakan as guest of honour, gave us an overview of the role and challenges facing the SANDF. There was no smoking gun. Rather, there were intimations of the kind of drama the transfixed audience could expect ahead.

Having salivated over the sauce of various accounts of the arms deal - from newspaper reports to books on the defence force's arms procurement saga by authors Andrew Feinstein, Paul Holden and more recently, Jeremy Gordin - one is still asking where the beef is. For some the goal of embarrassing ANC president, Jacob Zuma, may be seductive. However the role of those who serve in the defence force goes much deeper than scandals. Since 1999, when the government decided to modernise the weaponisation of the SANDF, the force's budgets in succeeding years have received mixed reactions. The budgets have aroused added interest for one to see what changes would be made to the country's security and the likely focus of the government on this issue.

Beyond their duty and responsibility to safeguard the territorial sovereignty of the Republic, when calamities like storms and floods show the way, it is those men and women in uniform who mark their place in the history of a nation. But as we were informed by Brig Gen. Oelofse, the SANDF does not have the resources at all times to deal with tragedies of this magnitude or, for that matter, other contingencies and obligations especially as a member of the African Union and the Southern African Development Community. Therefore, the SANDF also requires the enormous commitment of civil society.

Beyond political machinations like dispatching a warship to Haiti to rescue the island's president Jean-Bertrand Aristede during a rebellion in 2004; a military intervention in Lesotho and troop deployment in countries like the DRC and the Sudan, the SANDF has already swung into action preparing for the 2009 general elections and Confederation Cup, as well as the 2010 football World Cup. Who knows soon it could be called to do duty in Zimbabwe as the humanitarian crisis worsens in the neighbouring country.

To present a truly convincing case for civilian and military co-operation, the SANDF has to come up with a clear agenda to effect change. That it has performed superbly, despite some inconvenient truths and harsh realities, is a tribute to the quality of our men and women in uniform and to units like 1 Medical Battalion Group.

The South African National Defence Force and the police wereout in full force yesterday in an attempt to stem the crime scourge north-east of Pretoria.

More than 48 police officers were deployed in Kameeldrift, Cullinan and Mamelodi with the help of an Oryx helicopter.

A further 60 police officers were stationed at three major roadblocks strategically mounted on main routes leading in and out of the region.

In the operation, aimed at combating armed robberies, hijackings, and murders, nine people were arrested for various offences while several stolen and counterfeit goods were seized.

Among those arrested were four illegal immigrants, two people for allegedly dealing in dagga, two people for selling counterfeit DVDs, and one for drunken driving.

Two vehicles suspected to have been stolen were recovered and 3kg of dagga and 277 counterfeit DVDs were seized.

Officers from Kameeldrift, Cullinan, and Mamelodi police stations worked in conjunction with members from Gauteng’s crime-prevention unit.

After being dropped off in different areas, each group got down to work, sniffing out criminal activities for half an hour, after which the helicopter picked them up. The idea was to catch criminals off guard.

Provincial spokesperson Superintendent Lungelo Dlamini said yesterday’s action was not a once-off operation.

“There is a lot of criminal activity in the area.

“It is the first time that an operation like this has been undertaken in the region and we will repeat it in the coming months,” he said.

Dlamini downplayed suspicion of a third force’s involvement in the attacks on small holdings in Kameeldrift and Cullinan, but emphasised that a special task team had been assembled to investigate groups of criminals operating in the area.

 An Oryx Air Force helicopter prepares to deploy 12 police officers north-east of Pretoria.

According to the Department of Defence, this specialist unit has been trained for deployment in various peacekeeping capacities on the African continent, assisting in boarding operations at sea and assisting in humanitarian operations and disaster relief.

The unit was formed in 2005 when Vice Admiral Mudimu ordered the formation of a Maritime Reaction Squadron munit which could fulfil a specific mandate within the South African Defence Force (SANDF).

At the time, many Navy members were involved in peacekeeping operations on the African continent, including VIP Protection, observer missions and using boats to conduct patrols in the Great Lakes Region.

There was a need for a specialist unit to conduct an oversight role and it needed to be positioned within the Navy due to its expertise in riverine and littoral operations (which is the boundary area between ocean and land).

The MRS members have been benchmarked against defence forces in the US, UK and France.

They were trained to use small boats and helicopters which can be used to launch assaults from sea and to establish a beach-head on a target area.

Currently the unit is divided into various sections, namely an operational boat element, operational diving team and a rapid force element. These sections will work together to provide a force that can be rapidly deployed into any situation as required by government.

One of the Navy projects that will ensure that the MRS is equipped to fulfil all their obligations is Project XENA. The project is divided into various sub-projects, of which one is the acquisition of new boats.

The new Project XENA boat will also be unveiled to the public for the first time on Tuesday. At the event, the media will be invited to board the SAS Drakensberg, which will be berthed alongside in the harbour.

There will also be a demonstration of the MRS capabilities, teams will be deployed in small boats climbing over the side of the ship and by members fast-roping out of a helicopter onto the forwards flight deck.

The pagan priestess who took the South African Air Force to the Equity Court for unfair dismissal is now set to meet defence authorities with the hope of changing their “discriminatory” approach to minority religions.

On Friday Donna Vos, also known as Donna Darkwolf, reached a settlement with the air force after two years of legal proceedings. The matter was heard in the Bellville Equity Court last week.

Vos, who until recently lived in Durbanville, sought legal action in 2006. She claimed the air force had hired her as a chaplain and then fired her shortly after finding out about her religious beliefs.

She told Weekend Argus the settlement had not yet been discussed but she would meet authorities in Pretoria soon.

“I didn’t go into this for money or to get my job back. I just want the defence force to recognise minority religions as well. We will be talking soon, I don’t know where it will go, but at least we will be negotiating.”

One of the most prominent pagans in South Africa, she holds a biblical diploma from the Bible Institute in Kalk Bay and a masters in theology from Unisa. Her qualifications and her focus on HIV/Aids, the problem of Satanism among the youth and drugs and sex among young people got her the job.

But Vos said soon she was being “persecuted” for her beliefs. “I was pariah of the state, they were calling me a Satanist.”

She said a colonel, even after reading her book Dancing under the African Sun, labeled paganism a “cult” and told Vos they couldn’t “unleash you on 8 000 men”.

“It was so shocking that even after reading my book which explains that paganism is nature-based and describes our beliefs, he still had this attitude.”

It’s an attitude shared by most members of society, said Vos, and she is eager to help bring about a social change.

She has always been outspoken about equal rights for pagans and organised a workshop for witches from across the world in 2005.

Vos said it’s estimated there are between 10 000 and 50 000 pagans in the country.

Her own experiences have cast the spotlight on the outright discrimination pagans are confronted with, she says.

Vos believes this approach is fuelled by ignorance of minority beliefs.

“There are so many pagans living in silence. I know of three in the Air Force, but they are scared to speak out. I just want them to be able to wear their pentacles, like Christians wear their crosses and Jews wear their Star of David.”

Last year, when the Witchcraft Suppression Bill was being drafted by the Mpumalanga legislature, Vos spoke out about the prejudices witches face.

She has no desire to work in the air force again, and moved to Gauteng six weeks ago to further her pagan-orientated Academy of Magick. Once the academy is established, she will set up satellite offices in Cape Town.

“I am happy with the resolution reached, I think it’s the best one. Now we can get talking.”

The Department of Defence has said that Vos was never formally appointed but Colonel Danie van der Westhuizen, corporate communications officer for the defence force, could not be reached for further comment yesterday.

According to documents in the possession of Sowetan, a defence force officer was appointed to the post of Chief of Defence Material – responsible for armaments and procurement in the SA National Defence Force – without meeting the necessary requirements.

The advertisement for the post – now held by Antonie Visser – stated that eligible candidates should have “an engineering qualification and knowledge of the procurement environment”.

Sources told Sowetan the late SANDF secretary January Masilela, pictured, did not support Visser’s appointment because “he did not see the need of appointing an unqualified white male while overlooking qualified black people”.

But SANDF spokesman Siphiwe Dlamini told Sowetan that “the cabinet concurred with the impact his (Visser’s) appointment” had on the overall employment equity targets for the department of defence.

“In South Africa there could be anywhere between 10 000 and 50 000 pagans ... it’s hard to say. I’m not sure how many pagans there are in the Air Force. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is religiously discriminating,” she added.

She said she hoped the Equality Court would compel the SAAF and the SANDF to “lose their unconstitutional religious policies”.

An official at the Bellville Equality Court confirmed that the matter between Vos and the SAAF was set down to be heard today. “The incident concerning Ms Donna Vos occurred in 2003. She took the matter to the Equality Court only in 2006; thereafter the Department of Defence filed its answering affidavit in 2006.

“Ms Vos then left the matter dormant until 2008,” the court official said.

“The current position is a hearing on whether the Equity Court has jurisdiction to hear the matter,” the Department of Defence said in response to questions from the Cape Times.

“The issues relating to the potential outcome of the case and the defence are respectively speculative and sub judice.”

An optometrist has been arrested for allegedly issuing a fraudulent certificate giving a man who is blind in one eye a clean bill of health.

The 38-year-old man was arrested by the Gauteng community safety anti-corruption unit and the West Rand organised crime unit at his surgery in Simmonds Street, Johannesburg, yesterday.

“An SA National Defence Force (SANDF) member consulted the optometrist because he was desperate to obtain a driver’s licence as required by his employer,” said community safety deputy director Jaylin Chetty.

Police said it seemed the officer had been to different testing stations but had had no luck in obtaining the licence.

“He had failed the eye test at the Roodepoort testing centre before he was issued with a certificate claiming he was fit to drive,” said Chetty.

The 28-year-old officer, who is blind in the right eye, finally got his C1 driver’s licence, formerly known as code 10, at the Randburg testing centre in October.

Chetty said police conducted an audit through the eNatis system in November and found contradicting information between a previous report by another optometrist in Pretoria and that issued by the arrested optometrist.

“The patient’s signature was missing from the certificate. When we interviewed him he said that he did not physically go to the optometrist,” said Chetty.

He said the officer had paid R300 for the certificate.

Chetty warned others involved in fraud that their days were numbered.

“We are not going to tolerate any fraudulent acts. We will make sure that we root it out through our extensive operations,” he said.

Chetty said it was not clear if the officer would face any charges, but his licence had been cancelled.

The optometrist will appear at the Johannesburg regional court today to face charges of fraud and corruption.

There has been no formal request to involve the South African Navy in patrols off the Horn of Africa to help bring the rampant piracy there under control, and stability back to the one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, the defence ministry says.

After 18 years of civil war in Somalia, pirates have taken advantage of the lawlessness to launch attacks on foreign shipping from the country's coast.

About 100 ships have been attacked so far this year.

Speaking at a media conference in Pretoria yesterday, Sam Mkhwanazi, spokesman for Defence Minister Charles Nqakula, said such a request would be directed to the Presidency and the foreign affairs department.

After engaging the defence ministry, a political decision would be taken giving directives to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to explore the logistical and budgetary implications of deploying the navy in the area.

Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein told Associated Press in Nairobi, Kenya, that his country had been torn apart by the legacy of the long civil war and "cannot stop piracy alone".

Navy chief V-Adm Refiloe Mudimo said that, like all divisions of the SANDF, the navy was obligated to honour South Africa's international commitments and responsibilities.

But nothing was on the table yet with regard to Somalia, Mudimo said.

While no pirates were venturing into southern African waters, Mudimo said there were already initiatives by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to strengthen the capacity of the region to patrol its waters and render them safe for trade.

About 95 per cent of SA's imports and exports are transported by sea, representing 65 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. At least 75 per cent of SA's fuel needs come by sea from the Middle East, while 30 per cent of oil from Europe, South America and the Middle East goes to various destinations past the Cape of Good Hope.

Mudimo said pirates were not messing with the Cape because of SA's submarines, frigates and patrol vessels.

The SADC initiative was also looking at improving the region's capacity to curb drug smuggling and related international crimes such as human trafficking.

"Our centres of excellence and facilities are forever hosting students, and trainees of our neighbours such as Angola, Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania. My senior personnel are travelling to these countries, including Nigeria and Ghana, to share our expertise," Mudimo said. "Levels of cooperation, and the sharing of intelligence and information within the region and the continent are crucial if we are to keep our waters safe for intercontinental trade and our citizens."

The chief director of maritime strategy, R-Adm Bernhard Teuteberg, said the navy was establishing a multi-skilled Maritime Reaction Squadron that would have marines, trained by the army and navy and with diving skills to face a variety of challenges, both in inland waters and on the sea.

The squadron would also have an equally highly trained reserve team. Part of the training would be along Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi.

An estimated 28% of South Africa’s defence force, which is a “mirror image” of the country’s population, is infected with HIV/Aids.

This was revealed during a march yesterday by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in the fight against the epidemic.

The shocking revelation that 28% of the SANDF’s estimated 57 000 members are HIV-positive means that more than 15 000 soldiers, sailors, air crew and medical personnel cannot be deployed on external missions.

The non-deployment of chronically and terminally ill defence force members is because of SANDF policies and UN peacekeeping and peace enforcement requirements.

According to a UNAids report, 5.7 million South Africans were living with HIV at the end 2007.

The march was led through Thaba Tshwane by Deputy Defence Minister Fezile Bhengu and Surgeon-General Vejay Ramlakan to mark the 20th anniversary of World Aids Day.

Ramlakan, highlighting the importance of standing together to fight the epidemic, said the country’s 28% prevalence rate was a mirror image of that in the military.

“It is something that we are gravely worried about and are working flat-out to change through various programmes that we have in place,” he said.

Aids Foundation of South Africa’s executive director, Debbie Mathew, said South Africa had one of the most severe HIV/Aids epidemics in the world with the highest number of people living with HIV/Aids in the world.

“According to UNAIDS report ... 350 000 people died during 2007 of Aids-related illnesses with the epidemic, since its emergence, orphaning 1.4 million children in South Africa.

“While data from the Department of Health’s 2007 antenatal clinic survey indicates the epidemic is stabilising, there is no evidence yet of major changes in HIV-related behaviour with the national average of 28% still alarmingly high.

South African Military Health Services spokesperson Colonel Louis Kirstein said: “The moment a person is not 100% fit and healthy they cannot be deployed externally. At this stage SANDF policies and UN requirements state that people who suffer from chronic and terminal illnesses such as coronary diseases, tuberculosis and HIV/Aids cannot be deployed externally.

“However, (they) can be deployed within the country’s borders.

The South African army and air force are facing a potential catastrophic crises in their ranks.

The alarming revelation by senior army generals and South Africa’s leading defence analyst that both levels of equipment and training are far below the required standards and that troop levels are dangerously low has raised questions over whether the army can successfully defend the country against a major attack.

“The strength of the SA army is abysmal. Its equipment is poor. The training is poor and the number of troops is severely short,” says defence analyst Helmoed Heitman.

Heitman said shortsightedness, from both the previous and current governments with regards the hiring of incompetent staff, failure to spend money on training, troops and maintenance equipment, a critically understaffed “imploding” reserve force system and the defence force’s “knack” of getting rid of vital equipment such as transport aircraft had led the army to where it is.

Highlighting the defence force’s weaknesses, Heitman said they included the fact that the air force did not have any fighter jets and the beleaguered Rooivalk attack helicopter project. “This and the fact that we do not have the troops and logistics to respond to a major threat means that the SANDF is in big trouble,” Heitman said.

The SA army currently has a standing force of 41 000 regular soldiers with nine infantry battalions and two mechanised battalions. “To carry out missions safely without messing up training we need a minimum of 12 to 18 infantry battalions, meaning that we must increase troops by at least 10 000,” he added.