Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

Pay for those accused of crimes, including Boeremag treason trial trio, amounts to millions

THE MILITARY is struggling to win the battle of disciplinary hearings against its own members.

The SANDF has spent millions keeping soldiers accused of crimes on its payroll – including three of the accused in the Boeremag treason trial. The three have been on paid suspension since 2002.

Colonel Machiel Burger, Major Jacques Olivier and Major Pieter van Deventer, all from the South African Army, were arrested in August 2002 and later released on R10 000 bail each.

They all face charges of high treason and were suspended on October 9 2002. The details were in a defence ministry response to a written question in Parliament by DA MP James Lorimer.

The SANDF said the three Boeremag accused were awaiting civilian court proceedings and a decision on possible administrative discharges.

The SANDF did not provide costs of the suspensions but the DA has calculated that the three together cost the SANDF about R11.4 million while they were suspended.

Another expensive suspension is that of Colonel MD Kungwane, who was suspended in November 2002 and is on trial on fraud charges relating to the alleged submission of R380 000 in false demobilisation claims. The DA estimates that Kungwane has since then cost taxpayers R6m – more than 15 times as much as the amount of which he is accused of defrauding the state.

The SANDF listed 22 officers suspended with pay and another 14 suspended without pay. They face charges in military or civilian courts.

Those suspended with pay include members facing charges of treason, fraud, theft of military equipment, rape, armed robbery, attempted murder and extortion.

They also include members appealing against convictions of setting fire to a military office and killing a colleague, rape and culpable homicide.

They include Brigadier-General Nzima Nobanda, convicted in September 2003 in Kempton Park of shooting dead his daughter’s friend, Shane Coetzee, 19. At the time it was reported that the court heard that Nobanda had previous convictions for illegal possession of a firearm, drunk and reckless driving.

The DA estimated that paying Nobanda since his suspension in August 2007 had cost R1.1m.

Those suspended without pay include members facing charges of threatening senior officers, theft, housebreaking, rape, attempted murder and assault. These cases include a warrant officer accused of housebreaking and theft of a pair of boots, and a corporal acquitted in November last year of threatening a senior officer. He is still on suspension without pay pending his bosses briefing superiors on the case.

The DA estimate of R25m is two-and-a-half times the amount that the military records for suspensions.

Department of Defence annual reports for 2001/2 to 2007/8 state that suspensions cost a total of R10.5m.

According to the reports:

l The report for 2001/2 gives no details of suspensions.

l In 2002/3, seven people were suspended at a total cost of R319 445.

l In 2003/4, five were suspended at a cost of R151 191.

l In 2004/5, 14 were suspended at a cost of R421 854.

l In 2005/6, 12 were suspended at a cost of R312 046.

l In 2006/7, 44 were suspended at a cost of R4.9m.

l In 2007/8, 43 were suspended at a cost of R4.3m.

Most were suspended for more than a month but the reports do not indicate the length of individual suspensions nor the number on full pay.

SOUTH Africa’s abilities in bringing peace to the continent and energising other African nations to join forces to end wars have been given the thumbs-up.

Thousands of South African troops are currently deployed at hotspots across Africa, with the majority battling it out in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo to bring the final rebel groups to the peace table.

From conducting peacekeeping and enforcement missions as part of UN and African Union (AU) operations to mediating to help prevent war, South Africa and its soldiers are making their mark.

Mdu Khumalo, a researcher at the African Institute of South Africa’s peace and security division, said South Africa had shown in more ways than one that it was capable of bringing peace to Africa.

“Be it through mediation or actual peacekeeping missions, South Africa is more than able,” Khumalo said.

He said the country’s peacekeeping talent was born out of its operations and peace-brokering skills in Burundi.

“The success of ending war in that country led to the success of our other peacekeeping attempts elsewhere in Africa.

“South Africa and its ability and willingness to end conflict in Africa has been the spearhead for other African nations to stand up and take a joint responsibility in ending wars and conflicts,” he said.

Khumalo said South Africa had laid the foundation for Africa to become more involved in its own peacekeeping missions instead of relying solely on the UN.

He said South Africa’s commitment to peacekeeping and “putting its money where its mouth is” when it came to conflict resolution, had seen Africa’s nations increasingly auditing themselves for greater financial muscle to be put towards peacekeeping.

“South Africa’s commitment has seen other African countries taking an increased responsibility for keeping the peace instead of relying on ‘outside’ support to resolve Africa’s conflicts.

“The implication is that Africa is now showing the world that it can be a world player when it comes to peacekeeping.”

He said because of the great costs of peacekeeping, which could cripple the continent, Africa was being forced to take prompt, effective decisions which had a great impact in bringing about peace.

Khumalo cited the way the recent Madagascar and Equatorial Guinea coups were dealt with as examples of quick and effective decisions.

Defence analyst Helmoed Heitman said overall South Africa had made a success at peacekeeping, with it often being the first African country to commit “boots on the ground” when it came to resolving conflicts.

He said what was impressive about South Africa’s peacekeeping abilities was how the country’s defence force achieved its goals with few resources and on a shoestring budget.

“Within 10 days of being requested to help with peacekeeping in Burundi the SANDF had troops deployed on the ground.

“This was done without having the permanent standby force of many bigger armies,” he said, adding that the SANDF’s peacekeeping capabilities were respected around the world.

Heitman said an example of the respect South Africa had garnered was in 2006 when a South African infantry commander walked his forces into a battle zone in eastern DRC after he was refused both airlift and close air support. “Not only did he march his forces in but he also marched them out after peace was successfully restored in his area of responsibility.”

Heitman said while there had been problems such as with discipline, they were not unique to South Africa and happened to armies across the world.

“Overall everything points to us doing an excellent job and it is obvious that our guys are more than capable of bringing peace to Africa.”

SOUTH Africa’s elite soldiers, the Special Forces, are close to completing the training of dozens of their Central African Republic (CAR) counterparts.

The training, which is part of Operation Vimbezela, is aimed at building up the former French colony’s military capabilities.

The country’s army is embroiled in continuous clashes with dozens of heavily armed rebel groups throughout the CAR, which have claimed the lives of thousands and forced tens of thousands from their homes.

The training, which is due to end in 2011 shortly after that country’s elections next year, has seen more than 30 CAR troops trained in elite fighting skills.

Sixty-two South African soldiers have been conducting a variety of training with the CAR military since 2007, including the Special Forces high-risk protection training programme.

Last week, South African Special Forces based in the capital Bangui, along with their trainees, demonstrated their skills to CAR president Francois Bozize.

An SANDF Special Forces captain, who cannot be identified for security reasons, said the skills would allow the CAR troops to work in operations both inside and outside of the CAR.

“The troops have been taught about hand weapons handling as well as team skills, ranging from operating as a team leader, driver and personal protector,” he said.

“Other training which they underwent includes operational procedures such as ambushes and counter-ambushes, escorting and reconnaissance, threat assessment and command and control of the ‘principal’,” he said.

The principal is the person high-risk protectors are assigned to protect.

The captain said when they first arrived the skills of the CAR trainees were very poor, “but that changed rapidly within the first four weeks of training.

“In the first week we discovered that less than 10 percent of the soldiers selected for the training new how to disassemble a weapon, load or even fire it,” he stated.

“But, by the seventh week this had increased to nearly 80 percent,” he said.

He added that stringent weekly assessments had helped to increase the trainees’ skills levels.

He said what was vital now was that the skills taught were maintained especially after they had left.

“If they are to do their jobs, then they are going to have to maintain this level of expertise – otherwise it will be back to square one.”

General Mobebou Francois, the CAR’s military chief of staff, said they were extremely pleased with the training, which would go a long way in improving his country’s military.

He said while there was still a long way for his military to go, the most important steps had been taken.

“Our only hope now is that this and other training will continue and that co-operation between our two countries will continue.”

Vimbemzela mission commander Colonel George Sibanyoni said the operation would go a long way in improving the country’s military.

He said the mission was one where they would support and sustain the CAR military through military assistance programmes.

“While the mission is due to end next year, it can be extended – although there are a number of dynamics to the extension,” he said, referring to the numerous rebel groups waging war against the CAR’s military.

Smartly clad in their green uniforms, the band strummed out popular tunes much to the enjoyment of those who had gathered to watch.

Their performance forms part of various events planned to celebrate Madiba's 91st birthday on Saturday and his contribution to humanity.

Other SANDF units will mark Mandela Day in their own special way by embarking on special projects, or joining other established Mandela Day initiatives.

In a statement, the SANDF said that it joined the proud South Africans and many millions more from around the world in saluting Nelson Mandela.

The former president's 91st birthday will be demonstrated by acts of humanity and improving the world we live in.

President Jacob Zuma, during his State of the Nation Address, made a call for everyone to spend at least 67 minutes on Mandela Day to make a difference in the community they live in, by showing humanity towards other people.

The 67 minutes represents the 67 years that Madiba spent serving humanity.

Private collection in online auction of nearly 300 items dating back to Anglo-Boer War

BOOKS from a private collection on the South African border wars and the Rhodesian war are among the nearly 300 books offered by the AuctionExplorer online auction (www.auctionexplorerbooks.com).

The more than 30 books by authors such as Peter Stiff, Al J Venter, Jim Hooper, Ian Uys, Willem Steenkamp, Jan Bretyenbach and John Badcock deal with the operations of the South African and Rhodesian forces.

The Buffalo Soldiers — The Story of SA’s 32 Battalion 1975-1993 by Jan Breytenbach, the founder colonel of the battalion, is the history of an elite group which has been described as “probably the most controversial unit of the South African Defence Force (SADF)”. The battalion’s website says it consisted of former FNLA guerrillas from Angola under the command of SADF officers. The unit was disbanded in 1993. The book has a reserve price of $20.

Books by Peter Stiff include Taming the Landmine ($20), Warfare by Other Means — SA in the 1980s and 1990s ($20), and The Silent War — South African Recce Operations 1969-1994 ($20).

A more comprehensive history is provided by Willem Steenkamp in his book SA’s Border War 1966-1989 ($30).

A number of books on the Rhodesian war are on offer, including Rhodesian Soldier — And Others Who Fought ($30) by Chas Lotter, and Selous Scouts: A Pictorial Account ($60) by Peter Stiff. Dick Gledhill’s One Commando — Rhodesia’s Last Years: the Guerrilla War ($20), covers the last stages of the Rhodesian war.

The flip side of the SADF’s wars is given by A Long Night’s Damage — Working for the Apartheid State ($20) by Eugene de Kock (as told to Jeremy Gordin), and Jacques Pauw’s Into the Heart of Darkness — Confessions of Apartheid’s Assassins ($30).

Interestingly, the owner of this collection, who emigrated from the UK to SA about 30 years ago, in spite of his interest in military matters was never called up for military service in either the UK or SA.

Old Fourlegs, the Story of the Coelacanth ($30) by JLB Smith, an ichthyologist at Rhodes University who identified the ancient fish that was caught near East London by a fishing boat in December 1938. The captain notified Marjorie Courtney-Latimer, curator of the East London Museum, who in turn informed Smith.

He confirmed it was a coelacanth, believed to have been extinct for about 70-million years.

According to the Australian Museum website, this coelacanth specimen is still considered to be the zoological find of the past century. Coelacanths date back about 360-million years.

“This ‘living fossil’ comes from a lineage of fish that was thought to have been extinct since the time of the dinosaurs,” the website says.

The Concentration Camps in SA ($90) by Napier Devitt tells of a system that bedevilled Boer and Brit relations for decades.

Rayne Kruger said in Goodbye Dolly Gray that by May 1901 77 000 whites and 21 000 blacks had been interned. Although the original purpose was humane, the death rate was about one in five — with most of the deaths those of children who died of measles.

The Call of the Veld ($20) by Leonard Flemming, who was a well-known South African author in his lifetime.

He was one of the farmers who had been settled in the eastern and southeastern Free State under Lord Milner’s policy of anglicisation, when farmers of British stock were settled in the area.

Flemming is better known for his book, Fool on the Veld, a wry account of his attempts at farming in the Dewetsdorp district.

Speaking on board the SAS Amatola, one of the frigates that were recently acquired though government's arms deal, Admiral Mudimu said the Navy was in dire need of young men and women who were prepared to serve the country and its people.

Also on board the SAS Amatola were high school learners, who were selected from various schools to witness the Navy's capabilities at sea.

Currently, the Navy is in a process of short listing young people who had applied to take part in the Military Skills Development (MSD).

The Navy's MSD is a two-year voluntary youth empowerment programme initiated by the Department of Defence to provide military and essential skills to the youth who aspire to follow a military career in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

The MSD is also aimed at rejuvenating the SANDF, providing it with scarce skills as well as serving as a feeder system for the Defence Reserves.

Since its commencement in 2003, approximately more 10 000 youth from all over South Africa have been recruited by the SANDF through this system.

Rear Admiral Hanno Teuteberg also told learners on board the SAS Amatola that the Navy was committed to serving the country and its people.

"The strength of the Navy is determined by its partnership with the people," he said, adding that the Navy needed highly competent and professional people, who were willing to serve the country.

He boosted of the Navy's state-of-the-art acquisition, adding that they needed professionals to operate them.

"Highly competent and qualified people are needed to operate the sophisticated machines in the Navy," he said.

One of the youngsters, who were invited on board the ship, was Letsatsi Maroga, 17, a Grade 10 learner from Katlehong in the East Rand. He told BuaNews that he was considering joining the Navy.

"I now know what the Navy is all about and I'm interested in becoming part of it. I want to become the Chief of the Navy one day," he said jokingly.

Applicants, who want to join the Navy, must have a matric certificate and be between the age of 18 and 22 with no physical disability.

Parliament’s oversight obligation for defence spending should not be sacrificed on the altar of state security, writes Justin Sylvester

According to the Constitution, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) serves Parliament and it is Parliament that is required to exercise legislative control over the military.

As the manager of the military, the executive is thus accountable to Parliament.

But a worrying trend has emerged during the exercise of Parliament’s oversight role performed by the parliamentary committee responsible for defence, the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCD).

Or at least this seems to be the view of the new Minister for Defence, Lindiwe Sisulu.

Recently, the minister argued that key briefings by the Department of Defence (DOD) to the committee be held behind closed doors. She went on to lament the recent trend of meetings open to the public, citing that this practice threatened state security.

This followed a recent question on the state of readiness of the SANDF by the Democratic Alliance.

The oversight committee, in accordance with its constitutional obligation, then request-ed a briefing by the DOD on the matter. But, during her recent budget speech, the Minister’s response to this request, supported by the DOD, was to insist that the briefing be held behind closed doors due to concerns of state security.

If this becomes a trend, it would be worrying.

But the minister went further in her subsequent address to the media and stated that although she was pleased with the SANDF’s current state of readiness, it still required further expenditure on military hardware.

This is even more problematic, given that the minister of defence would presumably need to lobby for greater expenditure on military hardware, yet uses the issue of state security to insist that the briefing be held in camera.

However the two arguments are intrinsically linked. The Minister cannot request great-er expenditure without informing the public about the SANDF’s state of readiness.

This is about balancing the necessity of secrecy when dealing with state security and the necessity of transparency over defence issues in a democracy.

The SA Constitution places state security under the authority of Parliament and entrenches Parliament’s powers of oversight over issues relating to state security.

Although not involved in the day-to-day management of the military (which is the job of Minister Sisulu and the DOD), Parliament holds a number of functions and powers in this regard.

Three of these powers are pertinent to this issue.

Firstly, Parliament decides whether to deploy the SANDF.

Secondly, Parliament has the obligation to authorise and scrutinise any expenditure relating to defence.

Thirdly, Parliament decides whether to, and which, hardware to procure for the military.

It then follows that the minister is, as a member of the national assembly herself, dir-ectly accountable to the committee with regard to issues of the SANDF’s state of readiness, as well as expenditure on military hardware. But the rub lies in that Parliament serves an electoral mandate to South Africa’s citizens.

A key characteristic of this mandate is that committee meetings, particularly those where the executive is held to account, be open to the public.

This key facet of Parliament’s democratic obligation to exercise oversight should not be sacrificed on the altar of state security.

Naturally the SANDF is engaged in sensitive operations and intelligence gathering, which indeed requires that a balance be struck between a closed doors approach and transparency. And this is, at times, a difficult balance to maintain as the tendency exists for executives to be secretive on issues of state security and defence, as opposed to being more transparent.

But greater transparency on defence issues should not be a worrying trend. It is intrinsic to the role of defence in a democracy. Transparency was glaringly absent during the apartheid era.

Where the military was co-opted into the executive via the old State Security Council and Parliament was unable to hold either to account for increasing military expenditure.

Much ground has been gained in democratising our country’s security architecture post-1994. But since democracy is a perpetual process, it would be detrimental to begin pursuing greater secrecy over defence issues when, in fact, we should be moving towards greater transparency.

While legislative oversight should operate in a proactive manner, Parliament has largely displayed a retroactive attitude to oversight over defence.

The National Conventional Arms Control Committee man-dated to approve arms acquisitions and sales into and out of South Africa respectively, has further compounded the problem by sidelining Parliament’s oversight role over defence

The PCD is not able to participate in the NCACC’s review of applications for arms acquisition or sales.

The committee is often presented with cases of fait accompli, while the final destination of arms sales, as well as information on the relevant arms, is only shared confidentially with members of the committee.

The infamous Arms Deal teaches us that military expenditure and procurement can lead democracies into murky waters, with accountability, transparency and citizens as the main casualties.

Moreover, it highlights the pitfalls of what happens when the executive, and not Parliament, sets the defence agenda.

Parliament, for all its faults, provides an important space where much information is released into the public domain, which would otherwise have remained shrouded in secrecy.

Readiness

If the Minister and the DOD insist that the SANDF requires further expenditure for military hardware, it would be better for democracy that they explain why in public.

This would best be done in a briefing to the PCD that is open to the public.

They should explain to the committee the SANDF’s state of readiness and why further military expenditure should be prioritised in a time of recession, mounting labour disputes and a crippled health and education system.

Democracy would be better served by greater transparency over defence issues, particularly with regards to expenditure.

Using state security as an excuse for the lack of transparency in our democracy is indeed the worrying trend. The public have a right to know.

The defence force will finally brief Parliament on its troops’ combat readiness behind closed doors after ANC MPs rejected an open debate.

The ruling party and opposition DA fought during a parliamentary committee debate over whether MPs had the right to question the military operations publicly, with the ANC parliamentarians citing national security considerations.

The debate followed Defence and Military Veterans Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s refusal to brief Parliament on the same issue.

The committee had earlier written to the SA National Defence Force, saying Parliament demanded a full briefing on the state of the troops.

But acting defence secretary Tshepe Motumi wrote back to the committee, warning that an open briefing could compromise national security.

“The department has sought a closed meeting on this matter because the information to be disclosed is of a sensitive nature. Such disclosure, if made public, could compromise national security,” wrote Motumi.

He said the SANDF had also asked Sisulu to convey its reluctance to brief committee members in the presence of the media and other people.

“It is within this vein that a request for a closed meeting is made. It is hoped that the (committee) will understand and appreciate the very unique role the SANDF plays in the protection of the territorial integrity of South Africa,” wrote Motumi.

ANC MPs backed Motumi’s request, saying a public briefing would expose the country’s military secrets, which could make South Africa vulnerable to attack.

Veteran MP Andrew Mlangeni warned that the media should not be allowed to attend such a briefing because of the sensitive nature of the information that could be disclosed. “It has to be a closed meeting; I don’t know why we have invited the press. This is a sensitive matter; it can only be discussed in a closed meeting. How can we argue with that?” said Mlangeni.

Charles Kekana, another ANC MP, said the secret nature of military operations – even in Western countries – made it necessary to keep certain information out of the public sphere.

“The military operates on secrets. You cannot say you don’t have enemies until you are attacked. Militaries operate totally differently and secrecy is a big thing,” he said.

But the DA’s David Maynier said national security was too broad a definition to be used as the sole reason for a closed briefing.

He said the defence force could not be let off the hook simply because it invoked national security to justify keeping important information secret.

“In any constitutional democracy, the departure point must be that secrecy should be the exception and not the rule. National security is too broad because the concept is ambiguous… the onus would be on the department to show how disclosing the information would cause significant harm to the state,” he said.

SANDF soldiers have propped up the economy. Now locals fear unemployment

FOR Joselyne Ndizeye, a cleaner at the SANDF Modderfontein base outside Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura, the thought of the more than 1 000 South African soldiers going home is not good.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t know how I’m going to support my family,” she said, watching soldiers preparing equipment for next month’s departure.

Since October 2001 South African soldiers have been taking part in peacekeeping missions in Burundi following Arusha peace talks in Tanzania in 1999 after the country’s civil war in 1993.

The 1 070 soldiers who form part of the African Union Special Task Force (AUSTF) are due to go home at the end of August, bringing an end to Operation Curriculum V.

Ndizeye’s sentiments are shared by 50 other Burundians contracted as cleaners, gardeners and mess assistants for the base.

The few dollars they earn are among some of the highest wages in the country, with Ndizeye being able to support her five children and husband every month from the money she makes sweeping and cleaning at the base.

While Ndizeye and her compatriots’ concerns are shared by the South Africans, there is little that can be done for them.

“Our only hope is that the Burundi government will keep them on as cleaning staff,” said AUSTF commander Colonel Charles Buyse, adding that a large percentage of the local population still depended on South Africans for assistance.

Buyse and his contingent have been in Burundi since February and are the last South Africans to be deployed to the country. They are due to return home on September 30, leaving behind a small team of VIP protectors to guard Palipehutu-FNL leaders.

The VIP force of 119 soldiers will remain in the country until December under a new mission which could be extended ahead of next year’s elections.

The FNL were the last to sign the ceasefire agreement and join the peace process following the start of negotiations with the Burundi government in 2006.

After years of broken talks the FNL forces finally stopped fighting in April. Since then 21 000 FNL and FNL associate forces have been disarmed, demobilised and reintegrated back into society, with the majority returning to their homes in the country’s rural areas.

Buyse was quick to point out that while 21 000 former soldiers had been reintegrated there was still a long way to go with another 10 000 FNL associate forces, of which 1 000 are women, still having to be demobilised and reintegrated.

“This entire process is by no means over. We still have a long way to go before we are ‘feet up’,” he said, adding that they demobilised on average 150 former soldiers a day.

Buyse, commenting on the VIP troops remaining behind, said while there was peace now there was still a great deal of concern that the violence could flare again.

“There are definitely concerns and worries especially ahead of next year’s elections and it would be suicidal to close down these troops early,” he said, adding that the VIPs were responsible for guarding eight FNL leaders and their homes, and for escorting them to and from government meetings.

He added that because of resource pressures they had had to reduce the number of FNL leaders under protection from 23 to the current eight.

“This mission is very difficult and has a lot of complexities to it, such as the protection of former rebel leaders.”

Asked if there were plans to deploy a reaction force if violence flared ahead of the elections, Buyse said it would depend on the next mission’s mandate.

“Unfortunately it is too early to say what will happen with the next mission. This one is not even finished yet,” he said.

THE South African National Defence Force is preparing to resume its operations at the country’s border posts, defence chief General Godfrey Ngwenya has said.

The SANDF began pulling out of border posts last year, ceding authority of manning the borders to the police. It had withdrawn from the Namibian, Botswana, Lesotho and Mozambique border posts, but remained on duty along the Zimbabwean border.

Speaking after the parliamentary debate on the Department of Defence and Military Veterans’ budget on Friday, Ngwenya said the police had earlier indicated that they would cope with the task of manning the borders. He said the SANDF was preparing to return to the borders, but stopped short of saying the police were not coping.

Minister of defence and military veterans Lindiwe Sisulu told parliament that the defence of borders should remain in the hands of SANDF. “This will ensure we can release the police to deal with crime in the country.” She added that the SANDF needed to play a “more active role in assisting the SAPS to deal with crime issues”.

Nyanda was appointed minister of communications in May 2009. He is also a member of the Public Investment Corporation’s board.

He comes from a military background, having attended military courses in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in 1976 and 1986, Moscow in 1985 and South Africa in 1996 and 1997.

He has a BA from the University of South Africa, a postgraduate diploma in economic principles from the University of London, and an MSc in financial management from the University of London.

In 1994 he was appointed as co-chairman of the Joint Military Co-ordinating Committee of the Transitional Executive Council and was chief of staff for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) between 1994 and 1997. In 1997 he was the general officer commanding at Gauteng Command. He was appointed deputy chief of the SANDF in 1997 and held that position until 1998 when he was appointed chief of the SANDF.

DEPUTY MINISTER: Dina Pule

Pule was appointed the deputy minister of communications in May 2009.

She has a teaching diploma, a BA, certificates in public relations, women in leadership management skills and report writing, and is currently doing BA honours in communication.

She worked as a teacher between 1990 and 1993. She was a community liaison officer at the Department of Health in 1996 and 1997 and the head of communications at the Department of Health between 1997 and 2000; she has also been head of communications at the Department of Agriculture (2000-2004).

She was a member of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature in 2004 and 2005 and a member of the Executive Council for Safety and Security between 2005 and 2007.

ACTING DIRECTOR-GENERAL: Gerda Grabe

Grabe was appointed the acting director-general of the Department of Communications in February 2009 after Lyndall Shope-Mafole stepped down from the post.

Grabe joined the department in 2005 as the chief operations officer and deputy director-general in charge of administration.

She remains the chief operations officer of the department.

At the time of her appointment, she was seen to possess the necessary administrative skills for the post, even though she does not have a background in policy-making.

Grabe is a social worker by training.

EMBATTLED state arms manufacturer Denel could soon be rescued through a recapitalisation package and a return to its original home in the defence force, Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said on Friday.

Sisulu made the call for Denel to return to the defence family in her budget vote in the National Assembly, which was dominated by a furious row over the state of readiness of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and her refusal to give a public briefing on the matter to Parliament’s defence committee.

Denel recently asked the government for R1,7bn to get itself back on stream. In the past 10 years, R100bn of taxpayers’ money has been spent keeping government enterprises going.

When Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan recently warned that unprofitable state enterprises could be sold off commercially, she was called to Luthuli House for a meeting with African National Congress secretary-general Gwede Mantashe and the government once again committed itself to owning and rescuing them.

Sisulu told Parliament that the defence establishment “intended to negotiate Denel back into the ambit of defence” and that she had already had discussions with Hogan where she made the point that Denel should be “strategically realigned”.

“Denel is a strategic security manufacturing asset for defence and we would like to retain it as such,” Sisulu said, adding that there was a need for an exhaustive “interrogation” of the defence industry.

She said that Denel and Armscor should be examined, and said her department would examine Armscor — its procurement arm — to ensure proper management and governance.

Sisulu expressed confidence that, if Denel was brought back under the direction of the defence department, with proper command and control it could be successfully turned around.

She said that Denel was asking the government for recapitalisation and said she was “sympathetic to that request”.

She said this decision would be made by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

During the debate on her budget Sisulu came under attack from the Democratic Alliance’s shadow defence minister David Maynier who said that the public did not know about the combat readiness of the SANDF because the department of defence “won’t tell us”.

“The minister appears to be doing her level best to cover up the state of combat readiness of the SANDF,” Maynier said.

“We were told that the Department of Defence would not provide a briefing on the state of combat readiness of the defence force because the minister had not been briefed.

“But now we are told the Department of Defence will not provide a full and open briefing because it may compromise national security.”

Sisulu said Maynier’s remarks were some of the most ignorant ever heard in Parliament.

She accused him of theatrics and insisted that the only way in which such a briefing would be given to Parliament was behind closed doors so as to protect the security of the state.

Maynier responded: “We may not know all the details about the state of combat readiness of the defence force. What we do know, however, is that the defence force is in deep trouble.

“We have soldiers without vehicles; we have ships without sailors; we have planes without pilots; and we have military hospitals without doctors.

“We have soldiers in barracks, not in the field; we have ships alongside, not at sea; and we have aircraft in hangers, not in the air.

“We have an army that is overstretched; a navy which is understretched; and an air force with nothing to stretch.”

In the past three weeks we (the Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans) have had occasion to brief the Portfolio Committee on Defence on our strategic vision for the current period.

My deputy minister and I are not new to this portfolio. We are pleased to be back to a place where we both cut our political teeth. It is our intention to nurture the relationship between ourselves and the committee for the benefit of our national assets – the Defence Force and the Military Veterans.

In the past week an important matter has been raised in discussions of the committee that the Department of Defence provides it with a briefing on the state of readiness of the SANDF.

We have been responsible for the Defence Force now for all of six weeks and it would be proper that from the outset we admit we have major challenges at Defence and it is for this reason that we are hoping to have a good relationship with the committee, one that transcends party political boundaries and concentrates on this national asset.

The first challenge that confronts us is a declining budget where our domestic obligations remain defined in the constitution, against a backdrop of our growing international responsibilities against a deteriorating infrastructure and, very importantly, against a clear and pressing reality that conditions of service for the Defence Force need our immediate attention.

With a declining budget our competence is severely hampered, with dire consequences.

Peace, that which we are required to guarantee, is immeasurable. What it provides for us and the African continent cannot be quantified. It is that without which it would not be possible for us to realise our development as a continent.

We are acutely aware that we are in a recession and will propose a number of strategies to ensure we are not an additional burden to the state.

The second challenge is that for the past nine years the Auditor-General has given us qualified reports. We have put steps in place to ensure we have the necessary capacity in our financial management to begin to produce different results.

Our third challenge is the defence industry. We are aware that we have not had outstanding performances in the defence industry, ie Armscor and Denel.

We are paying particular attention to ensuring that the necessary management and governance is in place. I have on my table a report from the committee that has looked at the matter of Armscor and made some very strong recommendations.

We intend to negotiate Denel back into the ambit of Defence. Denel is a strategic security manufacturing asset for Defence and we would like to retain it as such.

The fourth challenge is an outdated Defence policy. We are embarking on a policy review to ensure that the Defence Force is in line with the reality of our democracy.

We want to take on board what we have become and take into account new challenges facing us as a country and as a continent.

In a country bedevilled by skill-shortages, the Defence Force presents itself as one avenue that the nation can tap into. It is an equal-opportunity provider to those who wish to advance themselves.

In rethinking our role in the economy, we would like to provide training for essential skills in the economy. We have huge skills training capabilities and have tested this through our Military Skills Training Programme. We want to extend this to cater for various industries and government departments.

Having assessed our options, we are considering making a request for a separate dispensation for Defence that would allow us to creatively deal with our own needs and the specificities of our own unique security requirements.

Finally, here is a good note to end my input. On August 8 we will be lowering the South African flag in Burundi, marking the end of one of our most successful deployments in Africa. Our mandate in Burundi expired in June after 10 years of peace keeping in that country.

As we speak all parties in that country have started campaigning in the elections in a peaceful atmosphere, all because of our contribution. Nothing can be more fulfilling than the knowledge that we have saved lives and held democracy together.

l This is an edited extract from the minister’s Defence budget vote address to the National Assembly yesterday.

At an annual cost to taxpayers of about R500 000 per soldier (R32bn for 2009-10), the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) represents hugely expensive unskilled labour. That money could instead be far more usefully applied to improve salaries for public service doctors and teachers.

Any notion that Zimbabwe or Lesotho (or the US) is about attack SA is plainly absurd. So what purpose does the SANDF serve beyond the outdated assumption that every country needs an army? Every army in Africa, ours included, is militarily a joke except, of course, to civilians terrorised by ill- disciplined, abusive soldiers.

Military dictatorships on our continent also prove that armies without foreign wars to fight are politically dangerous. Bored soldiers are prone to believe that they can better run the government than can politicians — as proved yet again this week in the tragic example of Honduras, the original “banana republic.”

For that very reason, neighbouring Costa Rica abolished its army back in 1949, and for 60 years has been a thriving and prosperous democracy. Instead of squandering money on armaments and the military, Costa Rica has used the money saved to improve its public health and education. As a result, Costa Rica’s per capita income is double that of other Central American countries.

Similarly Mauritius, without an army, although impoverished when it gained independence 40 years ago, is now one of Africa’s few success stories. In addition, Mauritius has international influence far beyond the clout of its tiny economy.

Having appallingly mismanaged both the arms deal and the SANDF, it’s not surprising that the government prefers to conceal the shambles from the citizenry (Is SANDF fit to fight, asks DA, June 29).

SA would do well to adopt the Costa Rican and Mauritian precedents, and to disband the SANDF. In so doing, albeit by default, SA could even make a virtue out of chaos.

Two men, included a gang leader wanted for a string of murders, have been killed in a shootout with Limpopo police.

"The suspect, Johannes Dube, was wanted for the murder of two police members, a member of the SANDF, a tuck shop owner as well as several cases of armed robbery," Superintendent Ronel Otto said in a statement on Wednesday.

On Tuesday night, police were tipped-off that Dube and another man were at a house in Embalenhle outside Secunda. Police surrounded the house and a shootout ensued.

"Warning shots were fired and they were ordered to surrender, but the suspects continued shooting at the police. Members retaliated and two suspects were shot dead."

Dube was the leader of a gang that had terrorised the Mahwelereng, Magatle and Zebediela areas since May 31.

The other man who was killed was believed to have been involved in the tuck shop owner's murder.

On May 31, Dube hijacked SA National Defence Force Lieutenant Colonel FM Kubjana while travelling from Polokwane to Pretoria.

A report was made to police that a someone driving a silver grey vehicle was seen dumping a body next to a river at Mahwelereng.

The victim had a gunshot wound to the head and at first could not be identified. The next day, Mahwelereng police on a routine patrol spotted Kubjana's car at a garage.

When they approached the car they were shot at by people in another vehicle also parked at the garage.

"Constable Geoffrey Sithomola died on the scene and Constable John Kekana was admitted to hospital with a serious bullet wound to the stomach.

"He has since been released and is recuperating at home."

On June 2, an abandoned vehicle was found. It belonged to Siyabuswa police officer Captain MS Masango. Masango could not be found and was reported missing.

A police task team set up to investigate arrested four suspects in connection with his murder.

"Following their arrest, the body of Captain Masango was found in the bush near Magatle where it was dumped after he was killed."

The four arrested have appeared in court several times and are still in custody.

"The task team soon realised that the kingpin behind the gang was still not arrested."

Dube also committed four armed robberies in the Zebediela area.

Last Thursday, during an armed robbery carried out by Dube and two accomplices, the female owner of a tuckshop was shot and later died in hospital. One man was arrested, but Dube and an accomplice got away.

On Tuesday evening police received information about Dube's whereabouts. After the shootout a 9mm pistol with its serial number filed off was recovered.

"The origin of the firearm is being investigated."

The province's deputy provincial commissioner Bennie Ntlemeza said: "This is a testimony that police in the province will not tolerate any lawlessness."

"Hopefully this [is] the end, and a successful completion of the process," Henri Boshoff, military analyst at the Institute for Security Studies, a South Africa-based think-tank, told IRIN.

SANDF's mandate in Burundi expired on 30 June and its 1,100 soldiers would be withdrawn, except for a small unit that would stay on to help the Burundians establish their own protection unit of some 300 troops, Boshoff said.

South Africa helped end Burundi's 15-year civil war, in which hundreds of thousands lost their lives. In 1999 former President Nelson Mandela was appointed Facilitator of the Arusha Peace Process, an accord was signed in 2000, and Mandela subsequently requested deployment of the SANDF to ensure the safe return of political leaders.

The South African Department of Defence envisioned the first mission taking place in 2007, but the situation in Burundi necessitated deployment as early as 2001. "The SANDF did the almost impossible by deploying a protection element as well as an infantry battalion within two weeks," Boshoff said.

Ethiopia and Mozambique also contributed peacekeepers, while South Africa provided the Force Commander and played a key role in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR), and security sector reform (SSR), providing security during the 2004 election and the final demobilization of the last rebel group, Forces Nationales de Liberation. "Lots of effort, finance, logistics and manpower went into the process," Boshoff said.

Overcommitted and underfunded

In line with South Africa's post-apartheid commitment to resolving Africa's conflicts, the Department of Foreign Affairs drafted a White Paper on Peace Missions as a guide in 1998, but the hasty deployment to Burundi led to operational, budgetary and personnel challenges, many of which remain.

According to the paper, deployment at any given time would be limited to one battalion - around 700 troops, depending on the mission requirements - yet the SANDF is "currently deploying three battalions, one in Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC], one in Darfur [Sudan] and one in Burundi," Boshoff said.

Peacekeeping missions require a demanding mix of age, expertise and operational readiness from different units in the defence force, severely overstretching the army's capacity.

Ideally, a mission force would comprise a minimum of three units resting and training at home to each one deployed, but a one-to-one ratio was the best the SANDF could currently muster, "resulting in problems with discipline, welfare and morale," Boshoff commented.

Discipline is one of the biggest problems the army is grappling with ... the external deployments are without a doubt part of the problem

In a recent report, South African Army Priorities and Roles in the Early 21st Century, Brig-Gen George Kruys (Rtd), a research associate at the Institute for Strategic Studies at the University of Pretoria, commented: "Discipline is one of the biggest problems the army is grappling with ... the external deployments are without a doubt part of the disciplinary problem."

The SANDF record in Burundi from 2002 to 2008 included some 400 cases of misdemeanour and nearly 1,000 military trials for offences ranging from murder and rape to absence without leave and "rebelliousness", the report noted.

"Taking into account the major role which the army must play in the government's priority task, namely, to deploy peacekeeping forces in Africa," the South African Army simply "does not have the funds to carry out proper training," and "it would not be able to obtain and maintain the needed equipment to carry out the roles it has been tasked to perform," Kruys pointed out.

Of major concern was a lack of understanding on the part of South African politicians regarding the army's financial and deployment needs. "When making external affairs policy speeches" politicians showed "no knowledge of the real state of the army", Kruys said. "The malfunctioning of army vehicles during peacekeeping deployments in Africa is a common problem."

According to Boshoff, the question is: "What will happen with that Burundi battalion?" Redeployment to DRC is already being considered.

NATJOINTS Chairperson and Deputy National Police Commissioner, Andre Pruis, on Monday briefed reporters about security operations during the FIFA Confederations Cup.

"Since we've been tasked with the responsibility of all security-related operations during the eight nation tournament, we are satisfied that our years of planning and preparations resulted in no major security breach occurring during the tournament," he said.

He said the overall concept of the operations in respect of safety and security, will be implemented during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Deputy Commissioner Pruis said FIFA hotels in all four host cities, Tshwane, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and Rustenburg were monitored on a 24 hour basis.

An analysis was also done on the incidents of serious crime around the stadiums during the two-week period of the Confederations Cup compared to the same period in 2008.

The analysis revealed that there was a dramatic decrease in serious crimes such as murder, attempted murder, robbery aggravated, theft of motor vehicles and sexual assaults during the Confederations Cup.

According to Deputy Commissioner Pruis, approximately 600 000 people attended the sixteen matches.

"During this period, only 39 cases of criminal conduct were reported, which could be directly linked to a stadium or the immediate vicinity of a stadium while people were entering or exiting or going back to their hotel rooms," he said.

He said the majority of cases recorded during the Confederations Cup were theft, especially of cell phones, with five robberies, mugging of wallets, one case of reckless driving, two more of corruption, one incident of using counterfeit money and one case of assault.

A special detective team acted swiftly to respond to the burglary case at the Pretoria Hotel, where two suspects entered the hotel rooms of Brazilian nationals.

The detectives managed to nab the burglars who were convicted and sentenced to ten years imprisonment each.

"This incident indicated the effectiveness of a dedicated court system for the Confederations Cup which will be duplicated for the 2010 FIFA World Cup."

He said all participating teams were protected and escorted at all times by dedicated security forces en route to and from training sessions, matches and travelling between the host cities.

Their movements were also monitored by the National Joint Operational Centre by means of a tracking system.

"This protection will continue until the last team has left the country," he said.

Force levels deployed for city security varied between 6 000 and 8 000 employees. This included all government departments participating in security-related operations.

Specialised high-risk forces, comprising members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were also on standby to deal with any emergency situation.

Various special trains were utilised between cities and more than 550 Railway Police members performed security functions on special trains as well as Metro trains.

On the final day of the tournament, Deputy Commissioner Pruis said a total of 12 trains were policed to and from Ellis Park stadium, in Johannesburg.

Although, event safety is not the responsibility of the police, additional law enforcement members were deployed at all the stadiums for security duties in the inner-perimeter of the stadiums.

This was also appreciated by both FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC).

"The NATJOINTS would like to congratulate all members of the security services who sacrificed a great deal of their time to ensure that the beautiful game could be enjoyed by all South Africans and the visitors," he said.

One of the major successes was the way in which sixteen government departments and other role players cooperated to implement the operation in a coordinated and united manner.

"We will build on the lessons learnt and expand on best practices to assist FIFA and the LOC in presenting the best World Cup ever next year," he said.

Making the case for a UN mandate for peacekeeping operations to allow force commanders to use necessary force to uphold the UN Security Council decisions, Lieutenant Colonel Johann Heyns of 43 South African Brigade said that the difficulties being experienced by peacekeeping forces in Darfur, Sudan for example showed that there was a need for the deployment of armoured fighting vehicles to support threatened forces.

Although the Sudanese government had consented to the presence of UN peacekeeping forces in Darfur to defend unarmed civilians that were consistently under attack from the Janjaweed militia, Khartoum was believed to be supporting the militia group and also behind some of the attacks on the bases of the peacekeeping forces.

"The strength of a UN force is normally very limited, however there is a definite need for reserves at all levels," he said.

Heyns said there were those arguing that the introduction of infantry combat vehicles in an area might be seen as an escalation. He said he believed that it could equally assist the South African forces and their counterparts deployed in Darfur to calm down the situation. "It shows the resolve of the Force Commander to protect his force, protect the UN mandate and also protect the population under imminent threat," he said.

He said properly armed peacekeepers would be able to do a better job including being able to monitor fearlessly the vast areas that the operation is expected to patrol and protect such as refugee camps.

Also advocating for the deployment of comprehensive infantry combat system, Major Pierre Olivier of the South African Army Amour Formation said this would not just be the show of force but an attempt to ensure that rebel groups and militia were thwarted from ambushing UN observation posts, convoys bringing food aide to camps, demining teams as well as protect humanitarian workers who have been kidnapped and murdered in some instances.

He said Darfur would have been more peaceful had the SANDF supplied with the necessary equipment such as the Rooikat with a few charges and improved wheels. They would need to be supported by unmanned aerial vehicles, attack helicopters. "The flexibility that an armour system provides the commander due to its protection, mobility, firepower and psychological impact must be exploited," Olivier said.

After near eight years on peacekeeping duty in Burundi, the South African army is set to withdraw as the security situation continues to improve (see Burundi: 30 January 2008: ). According to the chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Joint Operations Division, Lt-Gen Themba Matanzima, whose unit is responsible for planning military operations, the army's mandate in Burundi is due to end tomorrow (30 June), reports the local Business Day.Significance: South Africa has been closely involved in the Burundian peace process ever since Burundi’s long-running civil war first broke out in 1993.

Mandated by the regional African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN), SANDF deployed some 1,100 troops in the landlocked country back in 2001, tasked with peacekeeping in post-war Burundi, but the recent implementation of a peace deal between the Burundian government and the National Liberation Forces (FNL) rebel group effectively ended the civil war, leading to an upturn in the security situation.

The chief of the SANDF's Joint Operations Division, Lt-Gen Themba Matanzima, whose unit is responsible for planning military operations, said the mandate in Burundi was due to end tomorrow.

The South African government may still decide to extend the mission, but plans were on course for the withdrawal of most of the 1100 soldiers.

"As far as we are concerned, we have done a great job and the people of Burundi have elected their own government and we think that peace will last for some time," Matanzima said.

The SANDF has been in Burundi since 2001. The mission subsequently changed to an African Union (AU) operation before falling under the responsibility of the United Nations . Along with the deployment of troops, SA had also been involved in facilitating the peace process. Former president Nelson Mandela, then vice- president Jacob Zuma and former defence minister Charles Nqakula all worked as mediators.

The return of the troops from Burundi would be welcome because the military felt overstretched, Matanzima said. Almost 3000 soldiers and officers were on external missions. Despite the seemingly small number, three or four times that figure was required in order to rotate the troops.

"We feel that we are over- stretched, especially in the army," he said. Soldiers needed enough time to spend with their families, but also to retrain. To address this, the military was urging a review of the deployment structure with the possibility of increasing the permanent force, along with the utilisation of the reserve force. Although members of the reserve force were also deployed on external missions, increased utilisation of the force would require an upgrading of skills.

Acting defence secretary Tsepe Motumi had said earlier that the briefing would have to be conducted in a closed session.

"The constitution requires that Parliament conduct its business in an open and transparent manner, and the public has a right to know how and to what effect billions of rands are being spent on the SANDF," the DA said.

LIKE a true soldier, Lt-Gen Themba Matanzima declares that he will have to keep his cellphone on while being interviewed, in case his superior calls.

His office, complete with a big-screen television, is as large as that of an influential CEO.

A huge difference, however, is that to get to the general, one has to pass through a small nature reserve within the perimeter of the Joint Operations’ Divisional headquarters at Thaba Tshwane, near Centurion.

J-Ops, as the division is commonly known, is responsible for planning the South African National Defence Force’s (SANDF’s) missions, both internal and external. Equipment and personnel are supplied to the army, air force, navy and the South African Military Health Services for operations.

Matanzima speaks with pride about the mission in Burundi. The bulk of SA's 1100 troops are due to return this month, unless the government decides otherwise. Burundi has an inclusive government now and will be less reliant on SA’s peacekeeping force.

Since 2001, when SA first deployed to Burundi, the mission fell under the aegis of the African Union and later the United Nations (UN). With the guns now almost completely silent, only a small contingent will remain, mainly for VIP protection.

“As far as we are concerned, we have done a great job. The people of Burundi have elected their own government and we think that peace will last for some time,” Matanzima says.

He says the South African military feels overstretched.

Almost 3000 soldiers and officers are presently on external missions — and they are required at home to ensure the troops rotate and get further training.

To address this, the military is urging a rethink of its structure with the possibility of increasing the permanent force and using the reserve force. However, although members of the reserve force are also deployed on external missions, using them more often will require an upgrading of skills.

Matanzima speaks with deliberate slowness. Despite an acknowledgment by his aide that he is slightly edgy, there is no sign of discomfort. He is self-assured and forthright. Only later is his initial foreboding revealed.

Journalists, he says, hardly make for comfortable company, as some will even quote an inappropriate aside.

Former president Nelson Mandela is his uncle. Former Transkei bantustan strongman Kaiser Matanzima was also a relation. He now prefers to leave Mandela alone.

“Because he's old I don’t ask for time to see him. If I phone Mandla Mandela it’s enough to ask, ‘Is the old man OK?’”

Described by his staff as a Christian and a gentleman, Matanzima has been in his current position since 2007. He joined the Transkei Defence Force after matriculating in 1977 and was chief of the force with the rank of major-general when it was integrated after 1994.

He heads joint operations at what may be the military's busiest time. Last year it deployed in response to the xenophobic violence and assisted the police bring down the number of cash-in-transit heists.

The SANDF is also deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a UN mission. In addition, it is training a battalion and assisting the Congolese military with management issues.

In the Central African Republic, the SANDF is upgrading soldiering skills.

The SANDF has been unable to contribute more troops to the UN’s commission in Darfur, Sudan, due to problems with sleeping quarters. But there are ongoing negotiations with the UN for such facilities. “As soon as we do that we will increase our personnel there from 635 to 805 and then we will see if they still want more,” says Matanzima.

He says the South African Navy has not taken part in any operations off the pirate-hit Somali coast. “As of now the navy has not been asked to prepare for that mission. Maybe later, but as of now we are not involved.”

The 2010 Soccer World Cup will also require the SANDF’s expertise. But Matanzima refuses to confirm that unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, will be used to monitor the crowds.

In September the SANDF is hosting a brigade from each of 11 southern African countries in an exercise meant to prepare for a regional contribution to the African Standby Force due to be operationalised next year.

This is the biggest such exercise and the other armies will bring their own weapons and equipment to SA.

Although the military stood down from border duties in March, it has not left the Zimbabwean border. “We have had requests from some ministers that soldiers should go back to the border so that they can release police to reduce the level of crime, especially going towards 2010,” Matanzima says.

Screening for HIV ahead of external deployments has brought the military on a collision course with its unions and activists. Last year the Pretoria High Court declared the policy unlawful and instructed the military to come up with new guidelines.

Matanzima says the new regulations will soon be released. But until then, the old policy applies in order to protect soldiers from the harsh conditions in operational areas. “What we see, even after an internal deployment, is that when they come back, their health status deteriorates. So how much more if you take the person outside the country?”

Under former defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota, morale among soldiers plummeted, particularly over the failure to address salary issues. But Matanzima says enthusiasm is high among soldiers he sees who are due for deployment. “They are eager to go and work, outside and internally.”

Soldiers' remuneration is under review. “Broadly, I know also that the defence staff council and the minister are trying to address the question of low salaries,” he says.

African National Congress secretary-general Gwede Mantashe has hinted at a looming shakeup in the defence force, to get rid of old-order officers, including those from the former bantustans.

Matanzima says all soldiers should have an equal chance at deployment, regardless of previous affiliations.

“We have seen a great improvement, especially with the army, where you find the bulk of the forces. But there are a lot of youngsters coming through.”

The military skills development system, introduced in 2003, was aimed at rejuvenating the military by increasing its intake of matriculants.

A works regiment being established will utilise some soldiers no longer eligible for external deployment.

As his phone rings, Lt-Gen Matanzima turns his back, saying “That’s my chief.”

Matanzima is married, with five children, whom he admits to not seeing often as he is constantly travelling to visit troops.

“He heads joint operations at what may be the military’s busiest time. Last year it deployed in response to the xenophobic violence and assisted the police on cash-in-transit heists. It is also deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a UN mission and is assisting the Congolese military”

Defence and security company Saab had been awarded a contract to develop and supply fire control computers for the SANDF’s “new-generation” infantry combat vehicles, Saab South Africa president Riaz Saloojee said yesterday.

“This is a long-term strategic contract, which enables Saab to expand support business in South Africa, as well as in co-operation with Denel Land Systems in additional markets worldwide,” Saloojee said.

“This contract is an excellent example of the synergies that are resulting from bilateral co-operation and bringing direct benefits to South Africa. It is a breakthrough on the local market, which further strengthens our position in the land domain.”

The initial phase of the contract covers development and production of a batch of engineering development units for evaluation and testing in the new-generation combat vehicles. A number of production units are expected to be produced in a second phase.

Saab is responsible for overall design and integration of the components in the fire control computers, and for integrating the unit in the combat vehicles. Initial development work has already begun, with final deliveries of production units expected to occur in late 2015.

PARLIAMENT has taken the unusual step of postponing the budget vote of the minister of defence and military veterans to allow for her to brief MPs first.

The National Assembly’s defence oversight committee had complained that it was expected to approve the budget without first being able to question the minister or defence force chiefs.

In a preliminary report, the defence committee said this week it would find it difficult to rubber-stamp the budget, as Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and the army, navy and air force top brass had not appeared before it.

Committee chair Nyami Booi did not want to comment yesterday, but the National Assembly’s chairman of committee chairs, Obed Bapela, confirmed that Sisulu would not be delivering her budget vote today.

It has been postponed by a week “to give the minister and chiefs of the forces time to brief the committee”, he said.

Bapela said the minister would now brief the committee next week.

Questions that MPs want answered include details on the new Directorate for Military Veterans and information on the proposed deployment of SA National Defence Force troops in crime-fighting. A recent briefing by acting Defence Secretary Ntsiki Motumi had not provided sufficient answers.

“Details of the most appropriate institutional design and associated costs relating to military veterans are not yet known,” the committee’s report states.

“This is a key shortcoming and the committee intends to hold regular briefings with the department to review the progress made on the design and implementation of the new structure, as well as the budget for its administration.”

The committee also seeks answers to questions on who will qualify as a military veteran, although it was agreed that former liberation fighters, in general, had been neglected.

Another issue is Police minister Nathi Mthethwa’s statement that the SANDF should be used to provide cash-in-transit security – something on which Sisulu has yet to comment. While committee members believe the SANDF could help to fight crime, it believed “an appropriate role for the defence force has yet to be developed”.

the strike by KwaZulu-Natal doctors – now in its third day – is severely affecting the province’s health service, forcing it to bring in defence force medical personnel.

Most state hospitals, left with skeleton staffs, have cancelled operations and turned away patients.

Toyi-toying doctors outside Durban’s King Edward VIII hospital said they were still waiting for “feedback” from their unions about a possible settlement to their salary demands.

A meeting was scheduled for last night on whether to accept the government’s new offer.

At the King Edward VIII, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial and Osindisweni hospitals only critical patients – such as those who have been involved in accidents” – were being attended to.

Trying to deal with the strike the provincial health department brought in 18 doctors from the SANDF. The department’s chief operations officer, Nhlanhla Nkosi, said some emergency patients had been taken to private hospitals.

Nkosi said “nonessential” surgical operations had been cancelled. The doctors embarked on an illegal strike on Monday – protesting against delays in implementing the occupation-specific dispensation.

“We managed to get 18 doctors from the defence force to help at critical departments. Between Monday and Tuesday we had eight doctors from the military and others were promised by today (yesterday). We will station them in affected institutions.”

At Mahatma Gandhi most wards were still able to function.

Hospital spokesperson Mpume Mokoena said heads of departments were helping out.

Patients Sowetan spoke to said while they knew about the strike m and had come to hospital “just in case we were lucky”.

“As much as doctors are not supposed to go on strike, theirs are genuine concerns,” said one patient who asked to remain anonymous.

“We know how hard they work and it never realised they were paid so little. If striking is the only language our government understands, so be it.”

MPs have questioned the wisdom of Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s plans to deploy members of the army to help fight crime.

Members of the portfolio committee on defence and military veterans said yesterday they were in the dark about what Mthethwa intended. They were not convinced that “crime prevention” was an appropriate role for the Defence Force.

They also expressed concern about having to adopt the defence budget this week without being briefed by Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu or the SANDF, despite their having made repeated requests.

MPs have questioned the wisdom of Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s plans to deploy the army to help fight crime.

Members of the National Assembly’s committee on defence and military veterans said they were not convinced that “crime prevention” was an appropriate role for the defence force. MPs also expressed concern about having to adopt the defence budget this week without a briefing by either new Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu or the SADF, despite repeated requests.

In a “provisional” report on the defence budget’s priorities, the committee states that it “is of the opinion that the SANDF could greatly contribute to ensuring the safety and security of South Africans, rather than merely focusing on crime prevention”. Committee members told Independent Newspapers they were taken aback by Mthethwa’s recent announcement that the army could be used to help cash-in-transit security, as it was the president’s job to deploy the defence force. Sisulu has yet to respond to Mthethwa’s proposal.

The SANDF already supports the police with border control and some internal operations.

IF PEACEKEEPING in Africa is to succeed, there must be more involvement and a “robust” commitment from both the continent and the multitude of international role-players involved in ending wars.

This was the message from the DefenceWeb Peacekeeping in Africa conference in Midrand yesterday.

The conference is aimed at bringing those responsible for peacekeeping together to discuss matters crucial to bringing stability to Africa.

Conflict resolution and analysis experts, peacekeepers, private security experts and representatives of non-governmental organisations said it was vital for those who wanted to bring peace to the world to work together.

Highlighting the crisis in Darfur as an example of where more needed to be done, South African police assistant commissioner Mike Fryer said that to improve the situation in Africa, the African Standby Force had to be properly trained and deployed.

Fryer is the UN African Union civil policing commander in Darfur.

He said the police and the military played an important role in peacekeeping, although the former’s role was often overlooked.

“Long after the guns have gone silent, crime continues, especially organised crime such as the trafficking of weapons and drugs, which can shake a country to its core.

“This is my biggest fear and the signs that these crimes are starting in Sudan are there, especially with the increase in reported hijackings,” he said.

Fryer said his members, whose mandate was to protect civilians and help build up the Sudanese police service, were working in a tough environment.

“We as a police force are unarmed. Our only defence is our running shoes, our helmets and bullet- proof vests,” he said.

Fryer said that while they had been promised a force of 6 382 members, which included 2 660 crowd management policemen and 3 772 other police members, they so far had only 50 percent of the required forces.

“What makes our operations even more difficult is that the Sudanese government had stated that 80 percent of the UNAMID had to be from African states.

“The problem is that African countries don’t have the money to deploy and we are therefore forced to rely on donor funds.

“This has led to severe challenges such as slow deployments and the provision of troops who are not properly trained,” Fryer said.

“For the past 18 months I have been struggling and I have now run out of people to inform about the situation. I have gone to both the UN and the AU and now do not know who to go to anymore. Some countries have stepped in to help but others have not.

“While I am confident that we are going to achieve our mandate, I do not know when this struggle is going to end,” he said.

He said he believed the only way for “this conflict and other conflicts in Africa to be resolved is for the peace agreement to be signed”.

Lieutenant-General Themba Matanzima, SANDF joint operations chief, said modern conflicts demanded more robust force protection and operational capabilities from peacekeepers.

He said both international and African countries had to be more involved to achieve lasting peace.

“While there is scope for more international involvement in many of the ongoing conflicts, be it through peace support operations, skills development or bilateral military assistance programmes, Africa has to do more,” he said.

Doug Brooks, International Peace Operations Association (IPOA) president, said any military force that intended to be relevant beyond its national borders would be working with the private sector.

“The private sector is revolutionising international peace operations and no mission can succeed without contractors,” he said.

The IPOA represents private companies such as security companies involved in conflict areas.

Brooks said that what made private companies so useful was that they often had the means to make a mission successful.

“A perfect example is that when calls went out from the UN to countries to provide 24 helicopters for that peacekeeping mission only three were provided,” he said.

THE KwaZulu-Natal Health Department may call in the SA National Defence Force for assistance should state doctors, paramedics, pharmacists and dentists in the province go on strike today.

However, Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo said yesterday that the department was optimistic medical personnel would not strike.

“Should there be a strike, the department will seek assistance from the SANDF, but we don’t believe the strike will take off,” he said. However, King Edward VIII Hospital doctor Shailendra Sham vowed there would be a complete “shutdown” of KZN hospitals.

“The problem is that the government is constantly denying the crisis in the county’s health care system, even when doctors say they will strike,” Sham said.

“I have been on the phone and liaising via e-mail with my colleagues… and I know for sure that the vast majority of KZN health services will shut down. The strike will continue indefinitely,” he said.

Doctors from Jubilee Hospital in Hammanskraal and George Mukhari Hospital in Garankuwa, both in Pretoria, went on strike on April 16. This led to service disruptions at several state hospitals and spread to other provinces.

The doctors say the government has promised to improve their salaries and working conditions after the completion of the nurses’ occupation specific dispensation programme in July 2007.

However, this has not materialised. The government has offered public sector doctors increases ranging from 0.28 percent to 5 percent, while the doctors are demanding salary adjustments of 50 percent to 70 percent, as well as better working conditions.

The SA Medical Association (Sama) said state doctors were paid 50 percent to 65 percent less than other professionals in the public service. It said senior doctors on the same pay band as senior engineers were paid less than the engineers, while junior doctors were paid the same salary as a state director’s personal assistant.

Dhlomo urged health care workers not to participate in the illegal strike. “I would like to urge you not to make our people collateral victims. We would expect all of you to be at work and to allow the logical conclusion of the negotiation process,” he said.

Durban Coastal Sama spokesman Akhtar Hussain said the association was dissatisfied with the delay in the negotiations.

Health Department national spokesman Fidel Hadebe said the talks would resume on Wednesday and that the department would ensure that the impact of a strike was minimised.

KZN doctors will be joined in the strike by their counterparts in the Eastern Cape.

In Gauteng, doctors will decide today whether to join the action.

THOUSANDS of patients face being turned away from public hospitals tomorrow if a wildcat strike by South Africa’s 18000 disgruntled state doctors goes ahead.

The South African Medical Association (Sama) said yesterday it expected a “total shutdown” in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, followed by the rest of the country on Tuesday and Wednesday.

By late yesterday neither the South African National Defence Force nor the private hospital sector — both central to government’s strike contingency plans — had received requests for help.

Sama spokesman Lebogang Phahladira said members had “overwhelmingly” decided to strike. Doctors would report for duty and sign attendance registers but would not treat patients.

“None of the departments will be operational and we will not see any patients, even in an emergency. We will not work until our demands are met,” said Phahladira.

Sama wants a minimum 50% salary increase for its 7000-odd members. Government has offered 5%, but a revised deal will be presented at a bargaining council meeting on Wednesday.

Sama chairman Mac Lukhele said although many members planned to strike, the union had appealed for patience until the outcome of the meeting. Some have agreed to hold off on strike action.

A spokesman for the Hospital Association of South Africa, Kurt Worrall-Clare, said the group had had no requests for help. He said that in the past the association, representing all major private hospitals, had received formal requests from the government at least two or three days before anticipated strikes.

Morgan Chetty, chairman of the KZN Managed Care Coalition representing some 3500 doctors in the private sector, said they would not have enough doctors to help out if asked.

Defence spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi said the SANDF had not been asked to assist.

The KZN MEC for health, Sibongiseni Dhlomo, said yesterday the department did not believe outside assistance was necessary because there was no crisis.

But in Gauteng on Friday, a provincial memo to Johannesburg hospitals requested contingency plans be put in place and strike committees set up.

Gauteng health spokesman Mandla Sidu said it was the “prerogative” of hospital chief executives to request SANDF and private sector assistance.

Western Cape health spokesman Faiza Steyn said the province had a “sufficient pool” of doctors, including part-time doctors, military doctors and agency staff, to draw from.

AFTER spending almost R1bn on designing, building and testing the next-generation prototype of an infantry combat vehicle for the army, Denel Land Systems says it is ready to start production of some of the key components.

This could see the R8,3bn Project Hoefyster, that Denel is contracted to deliver, moving on at least a year ahead of schedule to balance the costs of the complex design phase with manufacturing.

The Hoefyster programme aims at designing and building an eight-wheel-drive vehicle in the 25-ton class. It is to carry between four and 12 men, and be equipped with various turret and on-board options to provide infantry with motorised transport and protection. The “8x8” configuration will give the 264 vehicles built optimal mobility over the roughest terrain, ensuring the infantry can enter and withdraw from conflict areas with minimum exposure and maximum survivability.

Based on an advanced mine-protected modular vehicle from Finnish manufacturer Patria, the vehicle will replace the Ratel high-mobility combat vehicle, which is now more than 30 years old.

Denel Land Systems CEO Stephan Burger says the challenge was to ensure that the vehicle was mine- and ballistic-protected. It would have hi-tech weaponry, and communications linking it to the command centre of the defence force. All this was designed under stringent time-frames at a fixed price.

The vehicle has a quick-get-out door at the back — a technology now being sold internationally. The prototype vehicles are undergoing rigorous tests for versatility and durability by various stakeholders, particularly the army, Burger says.

“We have designed on time new subsystems with unique specifications and appropriate guns that have not existed before.

“Under normal circumstances experts would describe this move as a risk ... but we took up the challenge because of the unwavering confidence in the capability of the organisation,” he says.

Serving in at least three South African National Defence Force (SANDF) battalions, the vehicle will come in five types, with a 30mm cannon or a 60mm breech-loading mortar.

“These guns have been successfully fired,” says programmes and quality manager Reenen Teubes. “We are continuing to test and evaluate the vehicles’ mobility, including their ability to fire accurately at a distant target running or standing.

“There is also a need for troops to have the kind of weapons on board to protect the vehicle and themselves from unexpected attack.”

Teubes says Denel Land Systems will provide the SANDF with training simulators to save costs. Local companies have been subcontracted to supply these.

“The company has already built a huge capacity based on the achieved milestones, making us ready to develop some production lines with the greatest confidence of our contractor, the army,” he says.

Burger says Denel Land Systems battled some years ago to get foreign business and that the South African army had also not been buying. “The company was facing insolvency with the burden of a huge overdraft, and then the army awarded it Project Hoefyster, which has become the backbone for its survival.

“Not only is it benefiting Denel Land Systems as the primary supplier of defence equipment to the SANDF, but a number of auxiliary companies in the defence industry will remain afloat,” he says.

The army has left nothing to chance, he says. It has monitored the process from the start and built in checks and balances in the contract to ensure sustainable financing.

Burger says the defence industry is hoping for a steady flow of business over the next few years as the defence force renews old equipment and buys new inventions.

The SA National Defence Force's (SANDF) two-year voluntary military skills development system (MSDS) is helping to reduce unemployment among the youth, Deputy Defence Minister Thabang Makwetla said on Friday.

"The MSDS programme enables us to fight penury and to assist in reducing the level of unemployment among our youth," he said at the department's youth day in Thaba Tshwane, Pretoria.

He said those who had served the two years under the MSDS programme could confirm that it had enabled them to enter the workplace with greater confidence and maturity.

"All of you in the MSDS programme are indeed a special group of today's youth.

"You have undertaken a challenging task to serve the people of South Africa and to defend the country's sovereignty.

"The department of defence is grateful for your contribution to the realisation of this constitutional mandate."

Makwetla said ill-discipline, alcohol abuse, abuse of state facilities, and insubordination by MSDS members would not be tolerated.

"The MSDS programme is partly aimed at nurturing responsible leaders and members of society.

"As future leaders of the SANDF and our country, it is crucial for you to conduct yourselves in a professional and disciplined manner, both in the public and private spheres, during your operations and when off duty," he said.

The African National Congress (ANC) is likely to emerge victorious from the April 22 parliamentary elections, with the Congress of the People (COPE) - an ANC splinter party formed in late 2008 - not likely to pose a serious threat to the ANC at the poll. A lack of funds, limited time to build a large support base and the difficulty of differentiating itself effectively from the ANC will curtail the COPE's ability to mount a major electoral challenge. While certain aspects of the elections appear to be a fait accompli, we believe that South Africa's political future and stability are by no means as clearly mapped out as they may seem. An important question remains whether the ANC will be able to hold onto its two-thirds majority in parliament. While a loss of the majority will not completely undermine the ANC's dominance over South African politics, it would nevertheless make the passing of certain bills in parliament more difficult. Perhaps more importantly, the party would lose its ability to implement unilateral changes to South Africa's constitution, which could have significant implications for political stability should ANC President Jacob Zuma's corruption trial go ahead. However, it should be noted that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) stated on March 18 that South African prosecutors were considering withdrawing corruption charges against Zuma. Ongoing high levels of private investment in the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup football tournament will play an integral part in dampening the negative impact of the global recession on the South African economy. In fact, we believe South Africa will remain one of the few major emerging markets in which gross fixed capital formation will remain in positive territory in 2009. Aside from partially mitigating the negative impact of the recession in 2009, we believe hosting the World Cup will also be instrumental in leading to a relatively strong economic recovery in 2010 - with the event stimulating investment, service export growth and private consumption. Slumping real private consumption and contracting real export growth will weigh heavily on economic activity during the coming year. The domestic economic crisis is expected to negatively impact the South African labour market. With job security an increasing concern, several South African labour unions have called upon the government to bail out businesses which are at risk of going bankrupt. Increased foreign competition - the result of the lifting of arms embargos - has forced South Africa’s defence industry to make significant adjustments. Although companies have laid-off significant numbers, recent procurement packages may reverse this trend in the long-term. Nevertheless, it is likely that recent government orders will increase arms imports. Despite some signs that inroads into international export markets are boosting company results, it is imperative that the South African defence industry break into international markets. At present, a lack of funding, policy and research and development (R&D) are hampering the industry. The significant players remain Denel, the former manufacturing divisions of Armscor, BAE Systems’ Land Systems South Africa, African Defence Systems (ADS), Grintek Defence & Technologies, Reutech and the civil and military aviation industry specialist Aerosud.

Executive Summary 5 SWOT Analysis 7 South Africa Security SWOT 7 South Africa Defence Industry SWOT 8 South Africa Political SWOT 8 South Africa Economic SWOT 9 South Africa Business Environment SWOT 9 Political Overview 10 Security Risk Analysis 13 BMI's Security Ratings 13 Table: Middle East And Africa Defence And Security Ratings 13 Table: Middle East And North Africa State Terrorism Vulnerability Index 14 South Africa - Security Ratings 14 Conflict Risk 14 Terrorism Risk 15 Physical Safety Risk 15 Security Overview 16 Internal Security Situation 16 Table: South Africa - Insurgent Groups 16 Latest Developments 17 External Security Situation 18 Armed Forces And Government Spending 20 Armed Forces 20 Historical Strength 20 New Role For The SANDF 21 Acquisitions 21 HIV/AIDS 22 'Army Vision 2020' 22 International Deployments 23 Table: South African Foreign Deployments 23 Weapons Of Mass Destruction 23 Market Overview 25 Arms Trade Overview 26 Industry Trends And Developments 27 Procurement Trends And Developments 29 Air Force 29 Navy 30 Army 31 Industry Forecast Scenario 33 Armed Forces 33 Table: South Africa's Armed Forces, 2004-2012 33 Table: South Africa's Government Defence Expenditure, 2005-2013 35 Key Risks To BMI's Forecast Scenario 36 Macroeconomic Forecast 36 Table: South Africa - Macroeconomic Activity, 2006-2013 40 Company Profiles 41 BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa 41 Denel 42 ADS (African Defence Systems) 43 Grintek Defence & Technologies 44 Reutech 45 Aerosud 46 Country Snapshot: South Africa Demographic Data 47 Section 1: Population 47 Table: Demographic Indicators, 2005-2030 47 Table: Rural/Urban Breakdown, 2005-2030 48 Section 2: Education And Healthcare 48 Table: Education, 2002-2005 48 Table: Vital Statistics, 2005-2030 48 Section 3: Labour Market And Spending Power 49 Table: Employment Indicators, 2001-2006 49 Table: Consumer Expenditure, 2000-2012 (US$) 49 Table: Average Annual Wages, 2000-2012 50 BMI Forecast Modelling 51 How We Generate Our Industry Forecasts 51 Defence Industry 51 Sources 52

New Report Just Published: South Africa Defence and Security Report Q2 2009

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2009-06-17

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The African National Congress (ANC) is likely to emerge victorious from the April 22 parliamentary elections, with the Congress of the People (COPE) - an ANC splinter party formed in late 2008 - not likely to pose a serious threat to the ANC at the poll. A lack of funds, limited time to build a large support base and the difficulty of differentiating itself effectively from the ANC will curtail the COPE's ability to mount a major electoral challenge. While certain aspects of the elections appear to be a fait accompli, we believe that South Africa's political future and stability are by no means as clearly mapped out as they may seem. An important question remains whether the ANC will be able to hold onto its two-thirds majority in parliament. While a loss of the majority will not completely undermine the ANC's dominance over South African politics, it would nevertheless make the passing of certain bills in parliament more difficult. Perhaps more importantly, the party would lose its ability to implement unilateral changes to South Africa's constitution, which could have significant implications for political stability should ANC President Jacob Zuma's corruption trial go ahead. However, it should be noted that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) stated on March 18 that South African prosecutors were considering withdrawing corruption charges against Zuma. Ongoing high levels of private investment in the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup football tournament will play an integral part in dampening the negative impact of the global recession on the South African economy. In fact, we believe South Africa will remain one of the few major emerging markets in which gross fixed capital formation will remain in positive territory in 2009. Aside from partially mitigating the negative impact of the recession in 2009, we believe hosting the World Cup will also be instrumental in leading to a relatively strong economic recovery in 2010 - with the event stimulating investment, service export growth and private consumption. Slumping real private consumption and contracting real export growth will weigh heavily on economic activity during the coming year. The domestic economic crisis is expected to negatively impact the South African labour market. With job security an increasing concern, several South African labour unions have called upon the government to bail out businesses which are at risk of going bankrupt. Increased foreign competition - the result of the lifting of arms embargos - has forced South Africa’s defence industry to make significant adjustments. Although companies have laid-off significant numbers, recent procurement packages may reverse this trend in the long-term. Nevertheless, it is likely that recent government orders will increase arms imports. Despite some signs that inroads into international export markets are boosting company results, it is imperative that the South African defence industry break into international markets. At present, a lack of funding, policy and research and development (R&D) are hampering the industry. The significant players remain Denel, the former manufacturing divisions of Armscor, BAE Systems’ Land Systems South Africa, African Defence Systems (ADS), Grintek Defence & Technologies, Reutech and the civil and military aviation industry specialist Aerosud.

Executive Summary 5 SWOT Analysis 7 South Africa Security SWOT 7 South Africa Defence Industry SWOT 8 South Africa Political SWOT 8 South Africa Economic SWOT 9 South Africa Business Environment SWOT 9 Political Overview 10 Security Risk Analysis 13 BMI's Security Ratings 13 Table: Middle East And Africa Defence And Security Ratings 13 Table: Middle East And North Africa State Terrorism Vulnerability Index 14 South Africa - Security Ratings 14 Conflict Risk 14 Terrorism Risk 15 Physical Safety Risk 15 Security Overview 16 Internal Security Situation 16 Table: South Africa - Insurgent Groups 16 Latest Developments 17 External Security Situation 18 Armed Forces And Government Spending 20 Armed Forces 20 Historical Strength 20 New Role For The SANDF 21 Acquisitions 21 HIV/AIDS 22 'Army Vision 2020' 22 International Deployments 23 Table: South African Foreign Deployments 23 Weapons Of Mass Destruction 23 Market Overview 25 Arms Trade Overview 26 Industry Trends And Developments 27 Procurement Trends And Developments 29 Air Force 29 Navy 30 Army 31 Industry Forecast Scenario 33 Armed Forces 33 Table: South Africa's Armed Forces, 2004-2012 33 Table: South Africa's Government Defence Expenditure, 2005-2013 35 Key Risks To BMI's Forecast Scenario 36 Macroeconomic Forecast 36 Table: South Africa - Macroeconomic Activity, 2006-2013 40 Company Profiles 41 BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa 41 Denel 42 ADS (African Defence Systems) 43 Grintek Defence & Technologies 44 Reutech 45 Aerosud 46 Country Snapshot: South Africa Demographic Data 47 Section 1: Population 47 Table: Demographic Indicators, 2005-2030 47 Table: Rural/Urban Breakdown, 2005-2030 48 Section 2: Education And Healthcare 48 Table: Education, 2002-2005 48 Table: Vital Statistics, 2005-2030 48 Section 3: Labour Market And Spending Power 49 Table: Employment Indicators, 2001-2006 49 Table: Consumer Expenditure, 2000-2012 (US$) 49 Table: Average Annual Wages, 2000-2012 50 BMI Forecast Modelling 51 How We Generate Our Industry Forecasts 51 Defence Industry 51 Sources 52

Veterans of the ANC’s armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), who are taking on an increasingly political role through their organisation, the MK Military Veterans Association (MKMVA), say they aim to achieve official status and recognition now that they have a ministry to take care of their needs.

The first step involves verification of all those claiming MK veteran status as well as the design of an official MK veterans uniform which will promote unity and discipline. National organiser Fumane-kile Booi says though the first objective is to properly organise MK veterans, who have felt discriminated against since the integration of the armed forces in 1994, the ultimate goal is the creation of a single SA military veterans organisation with a common identifying uniform.

He says it is hoped that the ministry of defence, which is now also the ministry of military veterans, will assist them.

At this stage, the MKMVA is not even certain of the number of members it has and whether all those who claim veteran status served in the ANC’s armed wing.

“There might be as many as 30000 and we are still discovering people every day who served. But there are also those who have made fraudulent claims and even got special pensions fraudulently,” says Booi.

But chancers are being weeded out.

“We are putting things in place for proper verification. Since most of us were based in Angola it is possible to find out whether someone was known ... Sometimes I get people born [as late as] 1989 coming to my office to say they are a veteran of MK. We are in a long process of gathering information.”

The MKMVA wants to ensure that the names of all those who served in MK are recorded on the walls at the Freedom Park monument in Pretoria. It also wants to recover the bodies of soldiers buried outside SA.

Booi says that veterans of MK want the same status accorded to veterans of all other conflicts.

“Veterans of World War 2 have their uniforms and blazers. We want a uniform that we can use to identify ourselves. So when we march somewhere it brings about some discipline and ensures exemplary behaviour.”

Last week, MK veterans wearing an array of “old” MK camouflage gear and MKMVA T-shirts marched to the Western Cape provincial legislature to protest against premier Helen Zille. The vets demanded that Zille apologise for her “disrespectful comments” about President Jacob Zuma, whom she had described as “deeply sexist” and criticised for “endangering his wives” by having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman. They also want Zille to disband her all-male cabinet.

At first glance, the gathered MK veterans were in the standard camouflage uniforms of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF). Section 104 of the Defence Act states that any unauthorised person who wears official uniforms, distinctive marks or crests is guilty of an offence, and if convicted can be fined or sentenced to five years in prison. A June 1993 Government Gazette prescribes the camouflage as being for exclusive use by the army.

Defence ministry spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi said the uniform worn by the MK veterans “did not look like” that of the SANDF, and suggested it had a closer resemblance to the Zimbabwean army.

Zille was not there to receive the veterans’ memorandum, which was collected by Western Cape housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela, contemptuously described as a “boyfriend” of Zille, and a puppet.

Booi said the veterans would continue to march until Zille apologised.

Chief of the South African Navy, Vice Admiral Johannes Mudimu said the reason behind the Navy introducing the Military Skills Development (MSD) programme was to hone the skills of young people for service in the military.

He was speaking on Thursday at the graduation ceremony for 500 young people from different parts of the country who had completed their six months MSD training.

Admiral Mudimu urged them to treasure the opportunity and to accept the responsibilities and sacrifices of this chosen career that is dedicated to serving people.

"You have been armed with the knowledge and skills that will guide you in your careers and as you stand on this threshold, the success of your future lays squarely in your hands," he said.

Admiral Mudimu told the graduates that they must have steadfast leadership, values, ethos and standards that are upheld through discipline because the Navy could not afford to have members that defied orders and refused to comply with standards.

One of the graduates, Jacqueline Oliphant, 19, from Knysna in the Western Cape, told BuaNews that she intends continuing her training to be part of Maritime Reaction Squad (MRS) in the Navy.

"I intend to work in the South African Navy for as long as I live," she said.

Ms Oliphant has been interested in becoming part of the Navy since she was a child.

Andrew Roth, 22, from Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, intends continuing with training to become part of the Military Police. "I have been looking for something challenging, I'm glad that the MSD programme had made it possible for me to become part of the Military Police."

He said the MSD programme was challenging and exciting.

The Navy's MSD is a two-year voluntary youth empowerment programme initiated by the Department of Defence to provide military and essential skills to South African youth who aspire to follow a military career in the South African National Defence Force.

The MSDS is also aimed at rejuvenating the SANDF, providing it with scarce skills as well as serving as a feeder system for the Defence Reserves.

Since its commencement in 2003, approximately more 10 000 youth from all over South Africa have been recruited by the South African National Defence through this system.

The Navy absorbs more than 1000 recruits in January and July per annum respectively as part of the Programme.

According to the department, graduates become pilots, engineers, air navigators, military doctors and combat officers, boosting the country's scarce skills demand.

The programme gives youngsters, who achieved good marks in school but have been unable to further their studies at tertiary institutions or had to drop out due to financial constraints, a chance in life.

The department engages in a process of selecting school learners who apply to take part in the programme. They then sign an initial two-year contract, after which they are considered for further service in the permanent force.

DESPITE navy chief Refiloe Mudimu’s scornful rejection of claims that he refuses to pay allegiance to South Africa’s president, a defence force union says it will now go to Jacob Zuma himself to have the vice-admiral axed.

But the SA Security Forces Union (Sasfu) has not as yet been able to present The Mercury with evidence for any of its claims.

Sasfu president Bhekinkosi Mvovo claimed that on at least two occasions, in senior management meetings, union members heard Mudimu say he would not support an “uneducated” president. He added that Mudimu had used a navy vehicle and driver to attend Cope rallies in the run-up to the recent elections.

Mudimu said, in a statement released yesterday, that he was considering taking legal action.

“I reject, with the strongest contempt, any attempt to imply that I, as the chief of the SA Navy… have insulted or compromised the commander in chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), and president of the country, (Zuma), in any way whatsoever.”

The demand by Lieutenant-Commander Bhekinkosi Mvovo, president of the SA Security Services Union (Sasfu), for the dismissal of Chief of the SA Navy (SAN), Vice-Admiral Johannes Refiloe Mudimu, on the grounds that he would not pay allegiance to President Jacob Zuma, is out of line.

We cannot have defence force unions meddling in the appointment and promotion of senior military officers.

Like all military officers, Mudimu is free to support any political party he chooses, and only owes allegiance to the constitution and the Republic of South Africa.

The problem here is that Mvovo, who is a serving military officer in the SAN, appears to be using a union platform to further the political interests of one faction of the ANC, when the SANDF may not, in terms of the constitution, behave in a way that advances the interests of any political party in South Africa.

One suspects that Sasfu is being used as a political battering ram to promote the political interests of Cosatu, to which Sasfu is affiliated, and to settle political scores in the post-Polokwane battle for control of the ANC.

It is imperative in our constitutional democracy that the Defence Force and the defence unions are not drawn into what could be perceived as advancing the interests of a political party.

CHIEF of the South African Navy Vice-Admiral Refiloe Mudimu has refuted claims by the South African Security Forces Union (Sasfu) that he said he would not respect President Jacob Zuma because Zuma was not educated.

Sasfu levelled the charge against Mudimu at a weekend press conference in which it highlighted problems it saw in the SANDF.

Union president Bhekinkosi Bantu Mvovo demanded that Mudimu be sacked for his alleged remarks.

Mudimu said today he had dedicated his life to serving the country and “its people in numerous capacities”.

“I wish to place on record that I reject all allegations and aspersions contained in this article with contempt,” Mudimu said.

“I have, for much of my life, been a loyal member of the African National Congress and the people’s army, Umkhonto we Sizwe, having been part of the 1976 June 16 uprising generation.

Dedicated

“During this time I dedicated myself to furthering of the youth movement, being deployed throughout the continent and working, among others, as an ordinance operative, and infiltrating weapons and personnel into South Africa.

“The costly sacrifices these activities required were supported by the abiding conviction that liberation of the South African people from the apartheid regime was possible; and that my life was being lived towards this end,” Mudimu added.

“With the attainment of our freedom in 1994, I pledged my loyalty to the government of the day – a pledge that was founded, once again, in my belief in a democratic South Africa.

“In making this pledge of allegiance, I affirmed the centrality of the deed of commission and the code of conduct for members of the South African National Defence Force in my life,” he said.

“I therefore must reject, with the strongest contempt, any attempt to imply that I, as the chief of the South African Navy, and a South African whose life has been dedicated to upholding the values of our constitution, have insulted or compromised the commander in chief of the South African National Defence Force, and president of the country, His Excellency Jacob Zuma, in any way whatsoever,” Mudimu said.

The allegations by Mr Mvovo of the SA Security Forces Union smack of ill-informed posturing at best. Has one of his informants perhaps been passed over for promotion?

There is no doubt the SA Navy faces serious problems, but none of them are of Admiral Mudimu’s doing or within his power to solve – such as funding levels being inadequate for effective training and maintenance; limited authority to make senior appointments in the navy; and inappropriate and “politically correct” Department of Defence personnel policies that run counter to what is required to build and maintain an effective force.

It is difficult to see how he could do better in the circumstances. In fact, he has done extremely well and is widely respected by senior officers of other navies. I know that from personal conversations with the chiefs of two major European navies, and from what friends and colleagues have heard while overseas. He also has a very clear vision of where the navy should be going to effectively serve the interests of South Africa and the wider region.

None of these problems is unique to the SA Navy. To take but one example: The SA Navy has three submarines and only one-and-a-half crews. The Royal Australian Navy, facing fewer problems and none of the politically inspired ones, has six submarines and one-and-a-half crews.

Discipline throughout the SANDF is poor – in part because every time someone needs to be disciplined one of the unions cries “unfair” or “racial discrimination”.

Mr Mvovo also vents on the subject of SA Air Force flight training, claiming that “brilliant black students are being told that they cannot fly”.

The SAAF has a long record of effective and safe flying, a combination that is not achieved easily. The key has been a strong emphasis on selecting the right people and ensuring thorough training before they are let loose in machines that fall to the ground if not handled properly.

There have been problems attracting enough young black people with the aptitude and the education for military aviation, in no small part because they are also head-hunted by commerce and industry, offering better salaries for far less effort. That, combined with its reluctance to lower the standard, has led to allegations of racism.

The Chief of the SAAF, Lt-Gen Gagiano, asked the Air Force of Zimbabwe to second instructors to the Central Flying School partly to address that very problem. Those instructors promptly washed out several black students whom the SAAF had been forced by political pressure to keep on, despite their clearly lacking the necessary abilities. Among them was one who had already failed three times and damaged two aircraft in the process. Perhaps he is one of Mr Mvovo’s “brilliant” black students?

Having known General Gagiano and other senior SAAF officers, black and white, for many years, I simply do not see them letting any potentially competent black pilot slip out of their hands. Whites, yes, because of the political pressure to achieve racial quotas; blacks, no way.

Where was Mr Mvovo when a senior air force officer was caught with crib notes during an exam and was not dismissed? Or when an army officer who had been unable to pass his staff course cheated and was caught, but has since been promoted?

Incompetent, dishonest officers will kill some of our soldiers. Should the Security Forces Union not be complaining about that? Or is it because the officers I have mentioned here happened to be black that it did not utter a squeak? Or perhaps it simply does not care about the safety of our soldiers, preferring political posturing that raises its profile to the harder work of ensuring an effective Defence Force?

This was the department's response to a Cape Argus report which revealed that the South African Security Forces Union (Sasfu) had accused Navy chief Refilu Johannes Mudimu of refusing to honour President Jacob Zuma.

Sasfu claimed at the weekend that Mudimu had said he would not recognise Zuma as commander-in-chief because the president was not an educated man.

The union also alleged that the navy was riddled with problems because Mudimu had run out of vision and that the SA Air Force was failing "brilliant black student pilots" because it was still run by "racists from the apartheid era".

The SANDF had similar problems, the union said at a press conference on Sunday.

"The department has noted with concern media allegations attributed to Sasfu," said spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi. "If true, the department finds it strange that Sasfu, whose members are employees of the SANDF, chose to ignore channels available to them to voice their grievances, but instead addressed such concerns through the media."

Mudimu has kept mum on the union's claims, but independent commentators have leapt to his defence.

SA Navy officers were not allowed to comment on the Sasfu claims as the matter is considered a departmental issue.

Mudimu was described by commentators as a pragmatic civil servant with no obvious political affiliations. His policy on promotions among senior staff had been controversial, as he had focused on promoting on merit rather than on racial lines.

SA Navy chief Johannes Refiloe Mudimu is mum on “unsubstantiated” media claims that he refuses to pay allegiance to President Jacob Zuma.

The SA Security Forces Union (Sasfu) called for his resignation this week, saying the vice-admiral had told senior naval staff he would not support a president he felt was “uneducated”.

This was according to Sasfu president Bhekinkosi Mvovo, who addressed a media briefing he called this week.

“The members of the SA Navy have lost confidence in the top leadership of the service,” he said, further alleging that Mudimu had used a navy vehicle and driver to attend political (Cope) rallies recently.

He referred to “admirals being charged for various charges including fraud” and said the service was “in a catastrophic condition” as a result.

“(The Department of Defence) has requested that I do not deal with this matter personally,” Mudimu told the Cape Times yesterday.

In a statement issued last night, defence spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi said they “(would) not comment or entertain such unsubstantiated allegations as reported by the media”.

If the allegations were true, he said: “The department finds it strange that Sasfu ... chose to ignore channels available to them to voice their grievances and concerns, but instead addressed (these) through the media.”

Mvovo said the union had requested a meeting with Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu to discuss these and other issues.

According to him, the entire SA National Defence Force (SANDF) was in a “shocking state”. He said racism and discrimination were rife in the SA Air Force, alleging that white managers in the air force discriminated against black pilots.

He said transformation was needed and called for Sisulu’s “urgent” intervention.

The SA Security Forces Union (Sasfu) has threatened to "mobilise" if the salaries of health and other professionals serving in the SA National Defence Force are not upped immediately.

"Military professionals will no longer be used like animals and replace public servants when they go on strike," the union said in a statement on Sunday.

Military doctors, engineers, technical and scarce-skills personnel serving in the SANDF covered by the occupational specific dispensation (OSD) deserved to be paid accordingly.

"We demand the government treat us as human beings and pay the OSD immediately, or we will be forced to mobilise the members of the defence force to join hands with... their counterparts in industrial action in demand of the payment of OSD and improved salaries," Sasfu said.

Public sector doctors across the country are currently demanding better pay and working conditions.

Among other things, they are calling for the immediate implementation of the OSD, which was supposed to take effect in July last year, and a minimum 50 percent increase in basic salary.

In its statement, Sasfu also said racism and discrimination in the SA Air Force had "reached [an] unendurable situation".

"The minister must intervene immediately as black student pilots can no longer endure discrimination, and the deployment of Zimbabwe training personnel proves not [to be] helping," it said.

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma recommitted his government to extinguishing fires on the continent’s troubled countries, from Madagascar to Zimbabwe.

In his State of the Nation address, Zuma said South Africa would “participate in promoting inclusive government until free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe”.

“The plight of the Zimbabwean people has had a negative impact on the SADC region, especially South Africa. We call upon all peace-loving countries in the world to support the inclusive government to achieve economic recovery,” he said.

“Through continental and regional bodies,” Zuma said, “South Africa will work towards the entrenchment of democracy and the respect for human rights on the African continent.”

Zuma seemed to have toned down his harsh attitude towards President Robert Mugabe, after saying earlier this year that he would not call the Zimbabwean leader – who attended his Union Buildings inauguration – a comrade.

He applauded the role played by the SANDF in its peacekeeping efforts in the continent’s hotspots. “We will support the peace efforts of the African Union and the UN on the African continent, including in the Saharawi Arab Republic and Darfur in Sudan.

“We will support efforts of the SADC region to resolve the situation in Madagascar,” Zuma announced, hours after a court in Madagascar had sentenced ousted president Marc Ravalomanana to four years in jail over his buying last year of a $60 million (R482m) presidential jet.

Ravalomanana, who has taken refuge in South Africa, was toppled by Andry Rajoelina in a bloodless coup.

SA, Zuma said, would continue its role of assisting in the reconstruction and development of the African continent – especially in post-conflict situations.

Zuma emphasised the need for regional bodies to play a developmental role.

“Equally important, and closer to home, is the strengthening of regional integration, with particular emphasis on improving the political and economic integration of SADC, towards the African Union goal of a union government. We will establish a South African Development Partnership Agency to promote developmental partnerships with other countries on the continent,” he said.

Zuma reassured the world of continuity in SA’s current foreign policy approach, emphasising the need to carry through most of his predecessor Thabo Mbeki’s pet projects.

He said that prioritising the African continent and strengthening the AU would remain the cornerstone of the country’s foreign policy.

Zuma also committed his government to giving “special” focus to implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad).

“We have committed ourselves over the years to contribute to building a better Africa and a better world. The main goal of the government for the medium term is to ensure that our foreign relations contribute to the creation of an environment conducive to sustainable economic growth and development,” he said.

Pundits had predicted a different approach to foreign policy after Zuma changed the name of the Foreign Affairs Ministry to International Relations and Co-operation and replaced his former wife – Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who spent 10 years in the portfolio – with Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.

About the Middle East, Zuma stressed the need of a “peaceful and sustainable” settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a “two-state solution”.

SANDF man falls victim to trigger-happy thugs

SOUTH African Police Service members in Mahwelereng, Limpopo, are living in fear after the killing of a colleague by thugs in a shootout that left another officer fighting for his life.

The incident happened near Mokopane on Monday.

Police spokesperson Superintendent Ronel Otto said two constables from the Mahwelereng police station were patrolling when they noticed a suspicious-looking car – a Toyota Corolla – at a filling station in the area. The car had allegedly been hijacked in Mahwelereng on Sunday.

The officers approached the two occupants of the car. While they were talking to the men another man in a Nissan bakkie behind them allegedly started shooting at the officers.

“One of the police officers was shot in the chest and neck and died on the scene.”

Otto identified the dead officer as Constable RJ Sithomola, 27. His colleague, Constable MJ Kekana was shot in the stomach. He is in the intensive care unit at an unidentified hospital.

Otto said police were hunting down the four men believed to have attacked the officers. No arrests had been made yet.

A source told Sowetan yesterday that the Corolla, which was used by the men, belonged to a member of the South African National Defence Force who was killed in the area, allegedly by the same men on Sunday.

Another officer at the station, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were now living in fear.

“We need protection because the manner in which our members are dying at the hands of the thugs is worrisome,” the officer said.

Otto said provincial police commissioner Calvin Sengani had expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased and also wished the surviving member a speedy recovery.

Sengani stressed that police would not rest until the suspects were arrested.

The MSDS is aimed at rejuvenating the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), providing it with scarce skills as well as serving as a feeder system for the Defence Reserves.

The MSDS gives youngsters, who achieved good marks in school but have been unable to further their studies at tertiary institutions or had to drop out due to financial constraints, a chance in life.

The week-long selection process, which started on Monday for invited candidates, is taking place in the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.

Successful candidates in KwaZulu-Natal started with their selection process at the South African Infantry Battalion (SAI Bn), Mtubatuba on Monday.

In Mpumalanga applicants are being screened at the Nelspruit Military Base, and in the Eastern Cape, MSDS candidates are currently battling it out at 14 SAI Bn in Umthatha.

Applicants, who received letters inviting them to attend the selection processes, are requested to ensure that they report on the dates as indicated for their relevant Arm of Service e.g. SA Army, SA Air Force, SA Navy and the SA Military Health Service.

Candidates are reminded to bring along the letter of invitation for the selection process, two certified copies of ID document and certified copy of Grade 12 certificate (those currently in Grade 12 should bring a certified copy of their Grade 11 results.

The number of recruits in the programme, which has been running since 2002, is influenced by budgetary restraints.

The recruits sign an initial two-year contract, after which they will be considered for further service in the permanent force.

Nelson Mandela wants to attend President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation address next week; Zuma’s predecessor, former president Thabo Mbeki has yet to confirm his attendance, while former deputy president FW de Klerk, who is in Greece, will not attend.

Two other former deputy presidents, Baleka Mbete and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, will be present on Wednesday.

National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu said yesterday that Mandela had strongly indicated his desire to attend. However, he was frail and if the 90-year-old statesman could not be present, “we will understand”.

The theme of Zuma’s address is Parliament entrenching people-centred democracy in achieving developmental goals.

There will be a mounted police escort and a military ceremonial motorcade; the SANDF will line the president’s route; and a national salute by the army’s Ceremonial Guard. There will also be an Air Force military band, a fly-past by the Air Force and a 21-gun salute.

An imbongi (praise-singer) will also be on hand to sing Zuma’s praises.

The president will walk from the gates of Parliament to the National Assembly through a guard of honour of 100 representatives of civil society org-anisations and a junior guard of honour of 250 leaders from schools in all nine provinces.

Big screens in all the provinces will broadcast the proceedings live, as will television and radio.

FORMER president Kgalema Motlanthe , in one of his last executive acts before handing over the reins to President Jacob Zuma , approved the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to do border duty in support of the police.

Historically, the safeguarding of SA's borders, except for controls at entry points, was a defence force function but it was made an exclusive police function some years ago.

The overstretched South African Police Service (SAPS) has been unable to cope with the border security function, making SA's frontiers, particularly that with Zimbabwe, notoriously porous.

Motlanthe's action, contained in a letter to Parliament, resonates with recent comments by Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa that the military could be roped in to assist with the protection of SA's borders, and perhaps also with the protection of cash in transit vehicles.

The transporting of cash has long been a primary target of organised criminals, resulting in what have become known as "cash in transit heists".

Motlanthe says in his letter: "This serves to inform the National Council of Provinces that I have employed the South African National Defence Force personnel for service in co-operation with the South African Police Service in the prevention and combating of crime and maintenance and preservation of law and order within the Republic of South Africa, along the RSA/Zimbabwe international border, to perform borderline control duties.

"A total of 160 members of the SANDF will be employed for this service until March 31 2010."

A further problem is that suggestions that the military be used to augment border controls come at a time when it faces personnel challenges of its own. The SANDF has several peacekeeping commitments across the continent.

Considering the thousands of kilometres of border which SA has, both land and sea, the allocation of 160 soldiers will seem ridiculously small.

Helmoed Heitman, defence analyst and local correspondent for Jane's Defence Weekly, says deploying 160 troops suggests that what is involved is a single infantry company of three platoons with a few attached specialists.

"That force is clearly far too small to exert any real control over the full length of the border between SA and Zimbabwe, even assuming that there are other troops in the Madimbo training area that lies adjacent to the eastern part of the border.

"The only really useful role for a single company along a border of this length will lie in focused ambushes of known crossing points used by criminal elements, the protection of vehicle check points on roads in the border area, or to accompany small teams of police officials as a 'force multiplier' that allows the few police assigned to border duty to be spread over more of the border," he says.

Heitman adds that the effectiveness of this small force will be further decreased by the fact that the commando system no longer exists, robbing it of the communications and quick reinforcement capabilities -- and local knowledge -- that those reserve units could provide.

There was an outcry in 2005 when the government announced that all volunteer commando units would be disbanded because of the role they played in combating insurgents fighting against apartheid. The plan was that commandos would be taken up in the SAPS reserve.

While there is no official indication yet that soldiers will be used to protect cash in transit, this move would raise the spectre of foreign visitors, particularly those coming for the Confederations Cup this year and the Soccer World Cup next year, seeing heavily armed solders performing normal police functions.

Heitman says the use of ordinary soldiers to protect cash in transit vehicles is likely to serve only to raise the risk of "serious civilian casualties resulting from fire fights between them and gangsters".

"The ordinary soldier is not trained or armed for this role, and will require quite considerable retraining to be effective," he says.

"The military is not the answer here, except possibly to provide heliborne reaction forces that can intercept a hijacked cash in transit vehicle or the robbers after they have fled the scene -- assuming that the Police Air Wing or an Air Force spotter aircraft have been deployed to track the vehicle(s) in question," he says.

Heitman says: "The SANDF is grossly underfunded and understrength for the missions with which it is tasked. It has a three- battalion foreign deployment that actually requires an 18- battalion force to maintain.

"The army has some 11 battalions, all under-strength.

"The result is an army -- in fact an SANDF -- that is consuming itself. Adding yet another set of missions will be fatal if not accompanied by substantial additional funding to allow recruitment of additional troops, proper training, proper maintenance, the replacement of old equipment and the acquisition of equipment needed to close existing capability gaps."

On the political front, the early removal of South African President Thabo Mbeki has significantly raised the country's political risk profile, with potentially negative implications for longer-term growth and external credit ratings. In our view, Thabo Mbeki's early resignation on September 20 2008 will significantly accelerate the transformation of South Africa's political landscape over the coming year, with rising short- and longer-term risks to political stability and policy continuity lying ahead. Although the recent acquittal of Jacob Zuma on corruption charges decreased the risk of violent protests and therefore merited an increase in our short-term political risk ratings, Mbeki's ousting has elevated the threat of snap elections and even a break-up of the African National Congress (ANC) into two parties.

Consequently, we have revised our short-term political risk ratings from 67.5 to 61.3.

It is noteworthy that, due to high borrowing costs and weaker external demand, we forecast that real GDP growth will remain subdued during the remainder of 2008 and the first two quarters of 2009. However, expected monetary easing from Q209 onwards, an improvement in external conditions and rising economic activity in the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup are likely to lift economic growth again beyond the 5% mark in 2010. In our view, South Africa's frail electricity sector will remain the main risk to economic expansion over the longer term. As a proportion of GDP and total government expenditure, defence spending in South Africa is miniscule.

South Africa's defence industry has undergone significant adjustments with the lifting of the arms embargos which has led to increased competition from foreign companies. With the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) no longer a captive customer of the sector, companies have had to lay off large sections of their workforce, leading to dwindling numbers. Recent procurement packages - instituted since about the middle of the present decade - may be the first step in reversing this trend.

However, arms imports should increase substantially with the delivery of the major weapons platforms recently ordered by the government, particularly with the recent normalisation of relations between the US and South Africa. The future of the South African defence industry depends on its successful breaking into international markets. Joint ventures (JVs) will aid the country in gaining a technological lead in key areas. Currently, the biggest single long-term problem within the defence industry is the lack of research and development (R&D), funding and policy. Arms exports are proving a more vital area of sales for South African defence companies, and should remain the main driver of any growth in the industry.

Encouraging figures from key defence companies seem to suggest that the defence industry is growing and making inroads into international export markets.

A quick gloss of the industry leaders reveals a handful of significant players. Formerly the manufacturing division of Armscor, South Africa's arms procurement entity Denel was established in 1992. Inheriting much of Armscor's production and research facilities, Denel was for a time the largest defence company in South Africa, employing over 10,500 people - a figure that has dropped to under 8,000. Other companies with a major presence in the defence industry include BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa, African Defence Systems (ADS), Grintek Defence & Technologies, Reutech and civil and military aviation industry specialist Aerosud.

THE South African Air Force member who allegedly shot his policeman brother-in-law during a fight after the Bulls’ victory was released on warning by the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Pieter Pretorius, 59, of Danville, was arrested on Saturday night for murder, after a heated argument, allegedly started by Inspector Marius van Dyk, 48, took a tragic turn.

According to the Director of Public Prosecutions’ instructions attached to court documents, Pretorius was arrested at his home, where the incident happened.

It stated that he had co-operated and his firearm was taken by the police. “The deceased was fighting with his girlfriend and assaulted his brother and sister-in-law. The accused fired a warning shot to break up the fight. The deceased attacked the accused and got shot. The deceased was the accused’s brother-in-law,” the document read.

Defence lawyer Oeloff de Meyer told the court that the family watched the Bulls victory in the Super 14 semi-final on Saturday, at the accused’s home. Afterwards there was a party and a braai. The deceased allegedly had a fight with his girlfriend and assaulted her.

De Meyer said the others tried to stop the fight, but the deceased assaulted them too. The accused fired a warning shot to stop the fight, but the deceased charged him.

In the struggle for the firearm a shot went off, De Meyer explained.

Pretorius has been in the SANDF for the past 27 years and has been married for 37 years. He promised to attend the trial if granted bail, adding that he had no previous convictions or pending cases.

The State did not oppose bail.

The court agreed that Pretorius was not a flight risk and doubted if he would skip bail and risk losing his pension of 27 years.

Pretorius was released on warning and the case was postponed to August 24 for further investigation.

However, this may be short-sighted. A strong defence force has a huge role outside of war, and the security of SA's citizens depend on it, be it in search and rescue missions or other civilian duties.

More importantly, SA cannot afford to lose the skills and technologies that the defence industry has fostered and can still promote. No clearer example of this can be found than the serious current shortage of skilled technicians.

Difficulties in attracting technicians at both SAA Technical and the Air Force are well-documented, and a strong, vibrant aerospace industry driven by Denel can reverse that. The same applies to technology. The value of Denel's research and development has value beyond the arms group.

With the numerous social challenges facing SA, it is pointless arguing for a return to the defence spend of the 1980s. Neither would we argue for another R30bn arms deal. But with a defence budget that barely covers salaries, there is scope to expand spending. Much of the South African National Defence Force's (SANDF's) equipment is dated and often hampers the work they do.

As Sadik points out, defence spending has slumped from 5% of the national budget in the 1980s to about 1,2% now, and as a result only half Denel's orders are from SA's defence industry. Denel would like to increase this closer to 70% and so is pushing for closer co-operation with the SANDF and the relevant state agencies.

Denel is too important for SA to dispose off. It is also too important to allow it to continue to operate unprofitably as it has since 2005. Management has done its bit to turn the group around.

State investment now in both defence and Denel would go beyond the financial rewards it would receive once the group returns to the black. It will be rewarded with a strong, well-functioning defence force, strong skills and sought-after intellectual capital to help build this country.

What is to be done with these military relics? asks The Herald photojournalist IVOR MARKMAN

THE mystery of the old and obsolete Second World War artillery pieces and armoured vehicles lying in a storage yard near Port Elizabeth’s airport has been resolved. When former defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota and SAPS Brig-Gen Harmse briefed the defence portfolio committee in February 2005, they revealed that the old commando system, under which the army helped the police in rural areas, was to be phased out and the bases shut down by 2009. Harmse described the process at the time as ‘functional purification’.

One of the problems created by this decision was what to do with all the obsolete military equipment on display at these bases as informal monuments to the history of the SA National Defence Force. The equipment consists mainly of field artillery, anti-aircraft guns and a few armoured vehicles.

Some of the vehicles and weapons from Eastern Cape bases were taken to the General Support Base, Port Elizabeth, for storage until such time as the future of the equipment could be decided.

Historians, ex-servicemen and others will be able to help preserve the items if Col Piet Hall (retired) and Prof Pat Irwin, of Rhodes University, have their way.

“These guns are important historic artefacts. They represent an important part of South Africa’s historical background and heritage in many respects, and it just seems a great pity to take artefacts like this and scrap them, where in fact future generations will enjoy them enormously,” Irwin said. “There’s an important educational role for people for what happened in the past.

“The condition of the guns there varies enormously. Some of them are barely retrievable, but if one cannibalised them, you could probably build up a complete (example) of the two main types there,” he said.

Hall said some ex-service organisations had expressed a keen interest in restoring and displaying the old equipment.

He said many members had the expertise necessary to turn the items into beautiful static display pieces. He emphasised that key parts, such as firing pins, had already been removed from the weapons and they would not be able to fire.

“Besides,” he said, “where will you get the ammunition? They haven’t made any for years now and it’s no longer available.”

Hall emphasised that the equipment needed to be looked after. “Unless we do something pretty soon it’s going to be too late.”

According to SANDF spokesman Brig-Gen KD Mangope, the artillery pieces were withdrawn to Port Elizabeth for safekeeping as part of normal closing down processes.

“The items were withdrawn to ensure their care, pending a disposal investigation. There was a concern that these items would be subject to vandalism and theft if left unattended.

“The (Department of Defence) does not dispose of any item without going through a comprehensive investigation in accordance with DoD and Treasury regulations,” he said.

Mangope said disposal by means of a donation was an acceptable option to interested parties.

“All applicable legislation, including the National Heritage Resources Act, must be taken into account when reaching a finding.

“Donation of obsolete equipment to museums has taken place in the past, subject to due process,” he said.

The SANDF yesterday released the name of the corporal who shot dead his wife and then killed himself in Centurion on Sunday. “It is alleged that Corporal Solomzi Nombewu shot and killed Warrant Officer Class 2 Ntombikayise Nombewu, and thereafter opened fire on the Military Police at 101 Air Supply Unit, Centurion, before allegedly shooting himself,” a statement read. – Sapa

A Cape Town tour guide who was checked into the Milnerton Medi-Clinic is not in danger of having contracted swine flu, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said yesterday. Deputy director Dr Lucille Blumberg said there had initially been some incorrect information about where and with whom the tour guide had been in contact. – Sapa

A 42-year-old Mozambican man was arrested in Thabong near Welkom for alleged possession of a suspected stolen car, Free State police said yesterday. The man was due to appear in the Welkom Magistrate’s Court today. – Sapa

A child was killed and eight other people were injured in a Riebeeckstad collision on Monday, Free State paramedics said. ER24 spokesman Tristan Wadeley said the accident occurred at the corner of Lois and Blenheim roads around 5pm. – Sapa

A man was shot dead by police and a 15-year-old boy was arrested after a robbery in Alrode in Katlehong on Monday, Ekurhuleni metro police said. Inspector Jimmy Maboko said officers saw two men struggling with a woman on the Old Heidelberg Road about 3.25pm. One of the men fled and shot at a officer, who returned fire. The suspected thief was later found dead of gunshot wounds. The 15-year-old was due to appear in the Alberton Magistrate’s Court on an armed robbery charge. – Sapa

Two people were arrested for damaging police vehicles in Chatsworth on Monday. Police spokesman Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said the two were due to appear in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court. Meanwhile, nine people have appeared in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court for allegedly burning down a councillor’s house on Sunday. All nine were released on a warning and the case was postponed to June 10. – Sapa

A leading Nigerian private airline, Arik Air, said yesterday it would begin daily flights from Lagos to Johannesburg next month. Flights will start on June 1. – Sapa-AFP

A recommendation has been made to charge five suspended Durban teachers with misconduct after they were accused of sexually abusing pupils, a report revealed yesterday. The KwaZulu-Natal Education Department suspended the five male Makhumbuza High School teachers on full pay pending an investigation. – Sapa

The ritual slaughter of animals on a beach at Port St Johns has been blamed for two fatal shark attacks there this year. The Natal Sharks Board team of experts made the finding in a report released yesterday. – Sapa

Three men were arrested for allegedly raping children in three separate incidents in Themba outside Pretoria at the weekend, police said yesterday. Two victims were nine years of age and one was 14. The three men were expected to appear in the Themba Magistrate’s Court today. – Sapa

1. Skills: Find a way to stop the flight of highly skilled, experienced pilots, flight engineers, sub-mariners and technical staff

2. Equipment: Replace ageing equipment, such as the C130 heavy transport aircraft and clamp down on the number of weapons disappearing.

3. Ill-discipline: Deal with wayward troops. Since 2002, more than 2 000 SANDF members have faced charges for crimes – including murder, rape and robbery – allegedly committed while on peace-keeping missions on the continent.

4. HIV/Aids: Deal with the impact of the disease on the SANDF. NKOSAZANA DLAMINI-ZUMA: HOME AFFAIRS Minister

1. Draw the line: Restore the integrity of the National Population Register database and devise a humane policy to deal with border controls, refugees and economic migrants

2. Who Am I?: Provide citizens with easier and more efficient ways of accessing birth and death certificates and ID documents

3. Stop the rot: Root out endemic corruption in Home Affairs offices and make systems more secure

4. National pride: Restore the international reputation of SA passports and travel documents. NOSIVIWE MAPISA NQAKULA: CORRECTIONAL SERVICES Minister

1. Safety first: Sort out the problems created when Sondolo IT withdrew their security staff without training Correctional Services staff.

2. Overcrowding: Work with police, courts and legislators to reduce overcrowding and speed up the construction of the new mega-prisons.

3. Beef up staff: Find people to fill the many vacant posts – especially doctors and nurses.

4. Contracts: Explain why Bosasa, under investigation by the Special Investigation Unit, was re-awarded the prisons’ catering contract.

1. Flying start: Find a CEO for SAA. Take a long, hard look at the national carrier and decide whether it shouldn’t be privatised instead of requiring regular cash injections of billions of taxpayers’ rands.

2. Build up: Help Eskom find ways of financing its massive building programme.

3. New structures: Sort out Denel’s restructuring.

1. Jobs, jobs, jobs: Devise ways of helping sectors under pressure from the economic slow-down, including clothing and textiles, the auto industry and food production.

2. Policy: Dot the i’s and cross the t’s on the National Industrial Policy Framework in conjunction with the Department of Trade and Industry

3. Small is beautiful: Focus on micro-economic policy tweaks and changes to open up the formal economy to more of the country’s citizens

4. A new agenda: give content to the idea of a developmental state that intervenes in a targeted, strategic way to transform the economy.MAITE NKOANE-MASHABANE: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND CO-OPERATION Minister

1. Goodbye: Get an exit strategy for Robert Mugabe to ensure the next government after the transition does not reverse the relative political stability.

2. Review: Convince the cabinet to review its stance on our relations with countries that irk China.

3. Benefit: Use South Africa’s economic and political power to influence democratisation of the continent.

4. Tell all: Ensure efficient communications to South Africans on the country’s key decisions.

The SA Defence Force (SANDF) on Monday confirmed a shooting at the 101 Air Supply Unit in Centurion, in which a corporal shot himself after earlier killing his wife.

SANDF spokesman Colonel Petrus Motlhabane said the Lance Corporal was on guard duty at 101 Air Supply Unit on Sunday.

"He left his post and allegedly shot his wife at approximately 7.45pm," said Motlhabane.

"He later returned to the unit, and allegedly opened fire on the Military Police. A short while later he allegedly fatally shot himself."

Earlier police reports said the member was a colonel, in charge of the guard room at a military base in Centurion. However, the SANDF confirmed he was a corporal.

Captain Colette Weilbach of the Pretoria police said the 31-year-old SANDF member went to his home in Swol Street in Valhalla on Sunday night, and shot his wife three times through a window, using an army issued R5 assault rifle.

"He then went back to the base and hid in some bushes," said Weilbach.

"The military police went to look for him and he took a number of shots at them before the SAPS (SA Police Service) and a police helicopter arrived," said Weilbach.

"After a while they heard another shot and they found that he had killed himself."

Weilbach did not want to release their names, as their family had not been contacted yet.

"She (the wife) also worked for the military, but I don't know where and which rank she had," said Weilbach.

Motlhabane could not confirm the wife was in the military.

One of the couple's three children was at home at the time of the shooting.

SAPS and the Military Police Agency were investigating cases of murder and suicide.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa wants to withdraw men and women in blue from border patrols so they can focus on fighting crime in business and residential areas.

He believes the responsibility for border patrols should be returned to the SANDF, and that the army should provide escorts for cash-in-transit vans.

The government is also planning to recruit thousands of unemployed youths to help fight crime in their communities.

Mthethwa said the government might have to reverse the decision that led to responsibility for border patrols being switched to the police.

He said rampant crime could be dealt with only if more police were deployed in problem areas.

“The old cabinet said we have set a law that police should be at the border, and March was meant to be the last day for the army to withdraw. We are going to engage our colleagues on that … the challenge at home is the crime in business and residential areas.

“I would argue … why would you want to have borders manned by the police? And if you look at international trends, the job of securing the country is done by the army.”

Mthethwa would also like soldiers to escort cash-in-transit vans to deter crime syndicates.

“If you look at other countries, the issue of transporting money is a joint operation between security forces.”

A large percentage of trained soldiers were part of the reserve force and could be used for escorts.

Mthethwa said 10 000 more officers would be recruited each year.

“To crack (down) on murder and corruption, it means visibility ... if visible policing is working to deter crime, how do you balance (that) with the fact that the borders are manned by the police?

“You may want to release the police … to concentrate where it matters most. That’s (an) issue that needs to be looked into.”

The department’s change in name from safety and security to police symbolised the resolve to rid society of crime, Mthethwa said.

“We had our approach in the past which was rather not soft, but not very hard in a way.

“This (name) change symbolises our resolve to approach criminals as though we are at war with them … to rid our society of them.”

Speaking to a weekend newspaper, Mthethwa’s deputy, former ANC Youth League president Fikile Mbalula, said youths would receive basic training in self-defence and guarding and would be incorporated into Community Policing Forums. Their role would be to patrol streets and report any crime to police.

THE three men who were on board the Agusta A109 helicopter that crashed into Woodstock Dam in Bergville on Tuesday have been identified.

They are Captain Wayne Bongani Mdluli, 34, Flight Sergeant Mone Izak Zuidmeer, 32, and Lieutenant Simon Lehlohonolo Baloyi, 27.

Mdluli’s body has been recovered and divers are still searching for the other two men, who were all from the 17 Squadron.

Baloyi was apparently piloting the helicopter when it crashed. Spokesman for the Ministry of Defence Sam Mkhwanazi said Mdluli, who was based at the Air Force Base Swartkop in Pretoria, joined the South African Air Force in 2000 and had received his pilot wings in 2003. “He was the commander of the Agusta A109. He is survived by his sister,” he said.

The search for the two other missing members still continues.

Meanwhile, the Premier of the Province, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has expressed his condolences to the families of the three members of the SANDF. “The news of the passing away of these three members of the SANDF left us, as the government of KwaZulu-Natal, with a profound feeling of sorrow. We join their families, colleagues and friends who mourn their untimely death.

“They were a perfect example of patriotic South Africans and they will be sincerely missed.

The South African Police Service is battling to attract whites, Indians and coloureds to join the force.

Recruitment figures of the race groups have dwindled in the past nine years.

Present figures show that 99,9percent of those entering the basic training institutions for the police are blacks.

National police director Selby Bokaba said they started a new campaign after noticing the decline in entry numbers for whites, Indians and coloureds.

He said the campaign was taken to high schools, malls and churches.

Bokaba said they had been advertising posts in newspapers predominantly read by the three race groups.

He said the challenge faced by the SAPS was that they were “fighting for the same piece of cake with the SANDF and Metro Police”.

The campaign was launched in Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal when police showcased their structure, including the national criminal record centre, diving unit, communication and liaison unit, air wing, national task force, and explosives unit.

Local police spokesperson Shooz Magudulela said the manner in which the police presented their activities encouraged the local youth to enlist in policing.

Liberation struggle veterans have called on new minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Lindiwe Sisulu, to help thousands of ex-combatants who they say are dying broke.

While the uMkhonto WeSizwe Military Veterans Association yesterday expressed gratitude towards President Jacob Zuma for appointing Sisulu in the post, they raised a number of issues concerning military veterans that they said needed to be resolved.

Sisulu has, meanwhile, promised to consult all former struggle combatants, including the Azanian People’s Liberation Army, the former armed wing of the Pan Africanist Congress and former members of Azapo’s Azanian National Liberation Army.

Among other things, military veterans want pension and financial benefits for ex-combatants integrated into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on their return from exile in 1994 that are equal to those awarded to former members of the apartheid South African Defence Force.

Kebbey Maphatsoe, chairman of the ANC’s MK Military Veterans’ Association, told journalists at Luthuli House in Johannesburg yesterday that it was “unfair” that military veterans retiring from the SANDF were being paid out pensions as if they had joined the army only in 1994.

“Our members are dying poor. How can government expect a 60-year-old man to retire with R100 000, when the SADF is paid out from the day they joined the army, in the 1960s?

“White SANDF members walk away with millions, while military veterans die poor.

“We are not fighting for ourselves but for our dependants and their future,” said Maphatsoe. Almost 20 000 ex-combatants still in the SANDF want a number of issues addressed, including improved pay packages, promotions to senior ranks and training.

Maphatsoe said Parliament had approved special pensions for non-statutory forces members, but this did not address all the issues.

Sisulu said the government would do everything “within its means” to ensure that ex-combatants were looked after.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the South African Police Service search team retrieved the remains on Wednesday.

According to the Department of Defence and Military Veterans, the crash, involving the Agusta A109 helicopter, was en route to Dragon's Peak Park, flying past the upper Tugela River when it plunged into the Woodstock Dam and sank.

Department spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi, told BuaNews the name of the SAAF member will be announced as soon as he is identified.

"A similar procedure will be followed regarding the release of the names of the members whose remains are yet to be retrieved," he said, adding that the search for the other bodies was continuing.

The cause of the accident is still unknown, Mr Mkhwanazi said, adding that the department has since convened a Board of Enquiry to investigate the cause of the accident.

The Agusta A109 helicopter is one the helicopters acquired as part of the department's Strategic Arms Procurement Package approved by Cabinet in 2001.

In 2007, the department received seven of the 30 ordered Agusta A109 Light Utility Helicopters.

Among other things, the package also included the Gripen, Hawk and the SA Navy's shipborne Super Lynx helicopters, as well as the Rooivalk and Oryx.

POLICE divers and the SANDF are still searching for a military helicopter with three men on board that crashed into a dam near Bergville in the upper Tugela area.

It has been reported by police that at the time of the crash yesterday, the Agusta A109 helicopter was carrying three crew members from the 17 Squadron who were on military training.

“A board of inquiry has been appointed to investigate the cause of the accident,” the Defence Ministry said and extended its condolences to the families of the men.

Crashed

Captain Charmaine Stru-wig said the helicopter had been on its way to Dragon’s Peak at 11am when it crashed into the Woodstock Dam and sank.

Struwig said they had received reports from people claiming that there had been smoke coming from the helicopter’s tail rotor before it crashed.

She said a man from one of the two helicopters that had been following the Agusta A109 had jumped into the dam to help the men.

“He, however, had to be rescued because of the freezing water conditions and was taken to the Bergville Hospital for further treatment,” she said.

“Police divers and SANDF divers have been called in to assist in the recovery of the wreckage and the crew who are at this stage suspected to have drowned,” she said.

Struwig said the names of the dead men would be released once their next of kin had been informed.

“The exact cause of the crash is still not known,” she added.

The accident, which occurred during a training flight, left three members of the South African Air Force (SAAF) dead.

According to the department, the crash, involving the Agusta A109 helicopter, was en route to Dragon's Peak Park, flying past the upper Tugela River when it plunged into the Woodstock Dam and sank.

Although the SANDF divers and helicopter search teams searched tirelessly for the bodies of the occupants - who were suspected to have drowned - none were found.

"The cause of the accident is still unknown," the department said in a statement.

The Agusta A109 helicopter is one the helicopters acquired as part of the department's Strategic Arms Procurement Package approved by Cabinet in 2001.

In 2007, the department received seven of the 30 ordered Agusta A109 Light Utility Helicopters.

Among other things, the package also included the Gripen, Hawk and the SA Navy's shipborne Super Lynx helicopters, as well as the Rooivalk and Oryx.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and Chief of the SANDF, General Godfrey Ngwenya have extended their deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the deceased.

The names of the deceased will be released once their next of kin have been informed.

The Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans' Association has threatened to render the Western Cape ungovernable if its premier Helen Zille continues "insulting" newly-elected President Jacob Zuma.

"Should Helen Zille not refrain from this anti-African and racist behaviour, we are not going to hesitate, but craft and launch a political programme aimed at rendering the Western Cape ungovernable," MKMVA chairman Kebby Maphatsoe said in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

Maphatsoe said this was not intended to send the wrong message to the world, but veterans could not sit back while Zille cast disdain on Zuma's cultural preferences.

"Her latest attack on the personal integrity of our president deserves a response by all South Africans," he said, reacting to Zille's comment that Zuma put his wives at risk of Aids as he had unprotected sex with an HIV positive woman.

Describing Zille as a "racist longing for the apartheid past," he said the constitution recognised the right of all South Africans to exercise their cultural beliefs without unfair prejudice from any provincial powers.

"Just recently, she appointed half her sex boys into the Western Cape provincial cabinet to keep them close enough to satisfy her well-evolved wild whore libido," said Maphatsoe.

The MKMVAs deputy secretary Ramatuku Maphutha said the association would mobilise soldiers in the Western Cape to go to Zille's office sometime next week if she did not retract her statement.

"They are always ready [the soldiers]. It's either she [Zille] vacates the office, or co-operates. We are prepared to sleep there if need be until we get an impressive response," said Ramatuku.

The veterans congratulated all elected public representatives in the provincial legislatures and parliament, particularly Defence and Military Veterans Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and her deputy Thabang Makwetla.

"We are particularly confident of the Minister Sisulu. We know that she is the only minister that had started implementing the Polokwane resolution on the Military veterans even before the fourth general elections," said Maphatsoe.

He said the veterans would not hesitate to take up issues which still remained unanswered by the government.

These included the poor salaries some members of the South African National Defence Force.

"Some SANDF members earn less than R5000 a month, even after 15 years of service while ex-combatants still live in poverty and die as paupers."

Maphatsoe said there was also evidence of unfair discrimination within the force and the ill-treatment of members.

"It is our hope that the new ministry shall be more responsive to these issues and many more, primarily as such issues affect former liberation army members," he said.

Three Air Force members were killed when their Agusta A109 helicopter crashed into a dam in the upper Tugela area on Tuesday, the defence ministry said.

The accident happened during a training flight to Dragons Peak Park in KwaZulu-Natal in the morning.

The names of the dead would be released once their next of kin had been informed.

"A board of enquiry has been convened to investigate the cause of the accident," the ministry said in a statement.

"The Ministry, Chief of the South African National Defence Force, General Godfrey Ngwenya, extend their deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the deceased."

Police captain Charmaine Struwig said the helicopter was on its way to Dragon's Peak at 11am when it plunged into Woodstock Dam and sank.

"Police divers and SA National Defence Force divers have been called in to assist in the recovery of the wreckage and the bodies of the occupants who are at this stage suspected to have drowned," she said.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

The SANDF members, who are looking their best today, will ensure prestige and tradition are brought to the grand ceremony today.

President-elect Jacob Zuma is expected to be accompanied by his three wives, children and close relatives as well as caretaker President Kgalema Motlanthe to the formal proceedings, which are due to start at 11am.

An impressive list of the SANDF's most senior officials are waiting to welcome and usher the man who will become their next Commander in Chief.

Chief of the SANDF, General Godfrey Ngwenya, Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Themba Matanzima, Chief of the Army, Lieutenant General Solly Shoke, Chief of the Air Force, Lieutenant General Carlo Gagiano, Chief of the Navy, Vice Admiral Refiloe Mudimu and Surgeon General, Lieutenant General Vijay Ramlakan are all expected to be at the entrance of the amphitheatre to welcome the President-elect and his guests.

A Guard of Honour will be formed by the National Ceremonial Guard.

Following the official ceremony, presided over by Chief Justice Pius Langa, the SANDF will conduct a traditional formal procedure to signal that South Africa has a new President.

A 21 Gun Salute by the 88mm Gun Troop from the Artillery Mobilisation Regiment from Potchefstroom will take place.

There will also be a spectacular Salute Flight by four helicopters of the SA Air Force and a mass fly past by aircraft of the SA Air Force. The Silver Falcons will also perform an air display.

Following the air display, there will be a final National Salute and the National Anthem will be played by the National Ceremonial Guard Band.

New Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tina Joemat-Peterson was previously the Northern Cape MEC for agriculture. Joemat-Peterson serves on the ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC) and National Working Committee (NWC). Her deputy is opposition party, FF Plus leader Pieter Mulder.

New Minister of Arts and Agriculture Lulu Xingwana, who is Joemat-Peterson's predecessor, is apparently also an avid art collector, who also loves pottery and beadwork.

Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture Paul Mashatile, who was overlooked to resume his position as Gauteng premier, was previously the province's finance and economic affairs MEC.

Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga, previously was Gauteng's MEC for education and is also the current president of the ANC Women's League and a member of the party's NEC.

Her deputy Enver Surty, served in the same post under former president Thabo Mbeki's tenure before moving into the justice post when Kgalema Motlanthe replaced Mbeki as president in September 2008.

New Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda is a former SA Defence Force head. He took over command of the SANDF in 1998 at the age of 48.

His deputy Dina Pule, was the MEC for culture, sport and recreation in the Mpumulanga province and before that the MEC for safety and security in the same province.

In a newly-formed post, Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, is Sicelo Shiceka, who was the minister of provincial and local government in the previous term and is also a member of the ANC's NEC.

His deputy Yunus Carrim was chairman of the National Assembly's justice and constitutional development portfolio committee.

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula was formerly home affairs minister and a former ANC Women's League president. She is the new Minister of Correctional Services, which was previously led by Ngconde Balfour, who is absent in the new Cabinet.

Her deputy Hlengiwe Mkhize, was previously an ambassador to the Netherlands.

Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Lindiwe Sisulu, was previously housing minister and before that intelligence minister until 2004.

The ministry was previously headed by Congress of the People president Mosiuou Lekota.

Sisulu's deputy Thabang Makwetla, is a former Mpumulanga premier and a member of the ANC NEC.

The new ministry of economic planning is headed by Ebrahim Patel, who is a former general secretary of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) and has extensive labour experience.

His deputy Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, is a former Speaker in the National Assembly. She was a Member of Parliament from 1994.

Dipuo Peters, who is the new Minister of Energy, is a former Northern Cape premier.

New Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan, was Commissioner of the SA Revenue Service. He has a Bachelor of Pharmacy from the University of Durban-Westville.

He joined SARS in 1999 and was hailed for increasing tax revenues.

He replaces popular Trevor Manuel in the position.

His deputy Nhlanhla Nene, most famous in the public eye for falling off a chair during a live SABC interview, remains in the Deputy Finance position after his appointment by Motlanthe in 2008. He is a former chairman of Parliament's finance committee.

The new Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, has a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Natal. He is a former acting premier in the Limpopo province and was previously also an education MEC in the same province. His deputy Molefi Sefularo. was health MEC in the North West province and appointed Deputy Health Minister by Motlanthe last year.

Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande, is the General Secretary of the SA Communist Party and serves on the ANC's NEC and NWC.

Besides his extensive trade union background, he has also been a lecturer and published widely about education matters.

Minister of Home Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma previously served as foreign affairs minister and before that as health minister. Her deputy Malusi Gigaba, continues his service in a post he started in 2004.

Former Gauteng premier and presidential hopeful Tokyo Sexwale, has made a dramatic return to politics as Minister of Human Settlements, formerly known as housing. Sexwale left politics in 1998 to pursue business interests.

His deputy Zou Kota, is a former chair of the portfolio committee of housing.

Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, the new Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, is a former Limpopo local government and housing MEC.

She has also served as an ambassador to India.

She is flanked by two deputies: Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim, a businessman, and Sue van der Merwe, who continues in a post she has held since 2004.

New Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Jeff Radebe, is the ANC's head of policy and was the previous transport minister.

He has also served as minister of public enterprises and under Nelson Mandela as minister of public works.

His deputy Andries Nel, served as acting chief whip for the ANC since 2007 and was deputy chief whip before that.

Membathisi Mdladlana continues in his post as Minister of Labour.

A new ministry dedicated to mining is headed by Susan Shabangu, who is a previous safety and security deputy minister since 2004 and a Member of Parliament since 1994.

Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa, was appointed Minister of Safety and Security in 2008 and has been a Member of Parliament since 2002. He is a member of the ANC NWC.

Fikile Mbalula, his deputy, is a previous ANC Youth League president and headed up the ANC's 2009 election campaign.

Barbara Hogan has been moved from her health posting to becoming the new Minister of Public Enterprises. She has been an MP since 1994 and was the first woman in SA to be found guilty of treason in 1982.

Her deputy Enoch Godongwana, was a member of the Eastern Cape provincial legislature and is a member of the ANC's NEC.

Minister for the Public Service and Administration Richard Baloyi, took up the post in 2008 replacing Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi. His deputy Roy Padayachie is a former deputy minister of communication.

Minister of Public Works Geoff Doidge retains his post. His deputy Hendrietta Bogapane-Zulu, is visually impaired and was chairwoman of the Parliamentary Joint Monitoring Committee from 1999 to 2004.

The newly-formed ministry of rural development is headed by Gugile Nkwinti, who was previously MEC of agriculture in the Eastern Cape.

Joe Phaahla -- director general of the government's 2010 unit -- serves as her deputy.

Naledi Pandor, former education minister has been redeployed to head up the ministry of science and technology.

Derek Hanekom continues in his post as deputy in this ministry. Under Nelson Mandela he was minister of agriculture and land reform.

Edna Molewa, the new Minister of Social Development, replaces Zola Skweyiya who retired from Parliament this month.

She was premier of the North West province since April 2004.

Her deputy Bathabile Dlamini, is a member of the ANC's NWC.

Makhenkesi Stofile continues in his post as Sports and Recreation Minister, as does his deputy Gert Oosthuizen.

Intelligence Minister Siyabonga Cwele continues in his post under the newly named state security ministry.

Former finance minister Trevor Manuel will be Minister in the Presidency heading up the National Planning Commission, which Zuma described as "very powerful".

The second Minister in the Presidency is Collins Chabane, who heads up Performance Monitoring Evaluation and Administration in the Presidency.

He is a former Limpopo public works MEC.

New Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk was the former Environmental Affairs and Tourism minister, a ministry, President Jacob Zuma has now split.

His deputy Thozile Xasa, is a former local government and housing MEC in the Eastern Cape.

The Trade and Industry Ministry will now be headed by its former deputy minister Rob Davies. He has two deputies -- Thandi Tobias who was the chairwoman of the public works portfolio committee and Maria Ntuli who is an MP.

The transport ministry will be headed by former Kwazulu-Natal premier Sbusiso Joel Ndebele.

His deputy Jeremy Cronin, is deputy secretary general of the SA Communist Party and a poet.

Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica, was the previous minister of minerals and energy. Her deputy Rejoice Mabhudafhasi, was the deputy minister of environmental affairs and tourism.

A Ministry for Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities has been created and will be headed by Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya.

She is a former president of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu).

THE Jacob Zuma era will be ushered in tomorrow with a lavish R75-million presidential inauguration in Pretoria.

About 5000 guests will converge on the Union Buildings for the hour-long ceremony, which will include an air force fly-past and a guard of honour followed by performances by top local acts.

Twenty-nine countries will be represented by heads of state, seven by their deputy presidents and 56 by their foreign ministers.

There will be three first ladies at Zuma’s side when he is inaugurated. He has invited Nompumelelo, Sizakele and Thobeka Mabhija to share the day with him, it was reported yesterday.

Other family will include his children, his brothers and sisters and his three aunts.

Also on Zuma’s personal guest list are former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda, former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano, Indian National Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former Nigerian vice-president Atiku Abubaker and the Rev Jesse Jackson.

Zuma’s spokesman, Lakela Kaunda, said his other guests were leaders of former liberation movements in Africa and of fraternal parties in India, China and other countries with parties that were close to the ANC.

Foreign affairs department director general Ayanda Ntsaluba told a media briefing in Pretoria yesterday that guests would be provided with umbrellas should it rain, and blankets if it was cold

The hour-long ceremony would start at 11am, after which the president would deliver a speech.

Ntsaluba said there would be a fly-past and a guard of honour because the president was the commander-in- chief of the SANDF.

“The president will acknowledge the national salute by the SA National Defence Force comprising a flight by four SAAF (SA Air Force) helicopters and Astra aircraft and a 21-round gun salute,” he added.

Among the controversial guests is Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

However, the foreign affairs department said there would be no special security arrangements for him as had been put in place to protect other heads of state.

Ntsaluba said they had discussed the possibility of inviting “other parties” in Harare’s unity government and “this is being attended to as we speak”.

War crimes accused President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan would not be attending. “The unity government in Khartoum will, however, be represented.”

There was some speculation about al-Bashir’s attendance due to the International Criminal Court’s warrant for his arrest. As South Africa is a signatory to the court’s founding Rome Statute, it would be obliged to arrest him if he visited the country.

A row has also broken out over Swazi King Mswati III’s attendance, with the SA Communist Party saying he was not welcome because he “knows no democracy”.

“The SACP wishes to express its strong displeasure at the presence of King Mswati at a ceremony that in many ways is also a celebration of democracy that he has denied his people,” said SACP spokesman Malesela Maleka in a statement.

Six local music icons have been chosen by the arts and culture department to perform at the inauguration.

They are Afrikaans rocker Karen Zoid, top-selling indie band The Parlotones, crunkers Jozi, rapper PRO, pop group Gang of Instrumentals, the jika majika Chomee and, representing house music, Oskido.

Ishmael, a member of boy band Jozi, is the only artist to have performed at all four post-apartheid inaugurations. He performed with Prophets of the City in 1994, with his kwaito crew Skeem in 1999, and solo in 2004.

“Wow, I might be someone after all,” he quipped. “Hey, I’m still relevant today and that’s a good feeling.”

Meanwhile, a prominent Durban businessman appeared in a Pretoria court yesterday for allegedly trying to bribe his way to a seat close to Zuma tomorrow.

Horse-racing magnate and security company owner Chockalingum “Roy” Moodley allegedly bribed an official at the Union Buildings.

Police said the National Intelligence Agency was summoned after the payment.

Moodley, who recently hosted a lavish birthday party for Zuma and an election victory bash for the ANC in Umhlanga, was granted R2000 bail in the Hatfield magistrate’s court.

SA Airways would celebrate Jacob Zuma's official inauguration as president by performing a flyover above the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the airline said on Friday.

"At 12.02pm on the inauguration day, three SAA aircraft will be visible over the official residence of the presidency," it said in a statement.

The aircraft that would be performing the flyover were an Airbus A340-300 and two A340-600s.

They would then return to OR Tambo International Airport.

Each aircraft would be operated by several of SAA's most accomplished and senior pilots. They are head of flight operations and chief pilot captain Johnny Woods; chief training captain Scully Levin; senior first officer Richard Smit Flight; operations quality manager captain Stewart Lithgow; A340 senior training captain Les Wahl; fleet captain A340 William Rooken-Smith; flight operations business manager captain Flippie Vermeulen and A340 senior training captain and senior first officer Neil Trollip.

While two pilots were required to operate the aircraft, an additional pilot would accompany each aircraft as a safety measure.

A Civil Aviation Authority inspector would also be onboard.

All of the operating pilots had flight display ratings and extensive experience in heavy jetliner formation flying, the airline said.

A dry-run of the display would be done on Friday using two Harvard aircraft and SAA's A340 flight simulator.

The performing aircraft would also be airborne early on Saturday morning for the operating pilots to carry out a practice run before the official display.

"SAA is internationally renowned for its world-class formation flying as well as memorable flyovers performed at a number of high profile events within the country."

These included the inauguration of former president Thabo Mbeki in 1995 and 2004 as well the flyover exercise during the opening of the 1995 Rugby World Cup over Ellis Park Stadium.

The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) would also be participating in the event as instructed by its current commander-in-chief President Kgalema Motlanthe.

At the start of proceedings, the chief of the SANDF General Godfrey Ngwenya, the chief of joint operations, Lieutenant General Themba Matanzima, the chief of the SA Army, Lieutenant General Solly Shoke, the chief of the SA Air Force, Lieutenant General Carlo Gagiano, the chief of the SA Navy, Vice Admiral Refiloe Mudimu and the Surgeon General, Lieutenant General Vijay Ramlakan, would lead Motlanthe to the podium.

In a statement, the SANDF said following the swearing in ceremony of Zuma a national salute would be sounded.

This would comprise a guard of honour by the national ceremonial guard, a 21-gun salute by the 88mm gun troop from the artillery mobilisation regiment from Potchefstroom, a salute flight by four helicopters of the SA Air Force, a massed fly past by aircraft of the SA Air Force and an air display by the Silver Falcons

Following the air display there would be a final national salute and the national anthem would be played by the guard band.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) offers viable career options to individuals across the social stratum. It turns ordinary civilians into highly disciplined, motivated and statured soldiers.

Lieutenant-Colonel M J Whitson shares some valuable advice for potential recruits.

Most recruits enter the training programme with the belief that the army is a walk in the park, but it is physically tough and mentally challenging. Yet do not be put off, as “the training programme is designed to naturally build recruits into skilled soldiers in achievable stages,” says Whitson.

The advantages of joining the army are endless. “Recruits develop a strong sense of patriotism, learn to function effectively in a team, and will leave the training programme disciplined and motivated,” says Whitson. These skills are not just limited to military use, but can be applied in all aspects of life.

Does the skills development end once the training program is completed?

“No, the army is a skills-driven organisation and recruits are constantly encouraged to improve,” says Whitson. Opportunities exist within the army to study further and specialise in particular areas. “Recruits do not have to be put off due to finance, as the army will cover all the training and study costs,” Whitson adds.

So what advice would you give poten-tial recruits?

“It is very important, as South Africans, to serve our country in any capacity. The army is one viable option that provides skills which can be used in civilian life,” Whitson says.

“The army is a very inclusive organisation; we are looking for recruits with the abilities to lead, persevere and have a strong sense of adventure.

“Joining the army is like joining a family; you will leave with a strong sense of belonging, purpose, pride and dignity.”

NOLITHA Mthembu is a very proud graduate of the SANDF’s Military Skills Development System (MSDS) training programme. She began her army career in 2006, aged 18.

Mthembu says her mother was “very scared” when she told her she wanted to join the army. She thought it was not the right thing for her |daughter.

Mthembu recalls with a smile, “I realised my decision would raise some objections. “My mother was scared, because I was her only daughter.”

But Mthembu was built of sterner stuff.

“I told myself I would be a soldier,” she says. “And a soldier I became.”

Raised in a humble homestead in Umzimkulu in the Eastern Cape, Mthembu heard about the military’s recruiting campaign on the radio.

“I had just completed my matric and was confused about what career path I should follow. The opportunity to join the army was so tempting I couldn’t refuse.”

I asked her if the training was anything like it is in the movies – soldiers crawling under barbed wire as a commander barks orders at them.

She gives me a cheeky grin.

“If you tell yourself you are going to do the training, no matter what, it is not tough. You need to conquer those fears right from the start.”

She believes the training teaches skills that apply not only to a military life.

“Leadership skills, personal motivation, handling difficult situations can all be adapted to civilian life,” she says.

Mthembu explains she has not yet been deployed beyond South Africa’s borders. However in 2007, she was part of an army patrol that monitored the Swaziland border, preventing illegal crossings and smuggling, and finding stolen cars.

“We had many successes, but I have never been in active combat.”

I had imagined that being a female non-commissioned officer in a male-dominated institution such as the army, discrimination would raise its ugly head.

“Not at all,” says Mthembu.

“In the army, there is no segregation, racism or sexism. The army is one of the few institutions that give you confidence, respect and dignity. Women constantly tell me they look up to me as a role model.”

The future looks bright for the lance corporal, who says she plans to work her way up the ranks and qualify as a |sergeant.

“Outside the military, I want to become a successful businesswoman. I plan to study |||||project management at Unisa.”

Once an individual has completed training, he or she qualifies as a reservist, Mthembu says.

“That means you have the option to pursue a part-time civilian job or study.”

Her advice to potential recruits is that the army equips you for life.

“The skills, discipline and dignity you get from the army will guarantee you success for the future.”

Thinking about joining the SANDF? Here’s what they want:

l You need to be a South African citizen between the ages of 18 and 22.

l A National Senior Certificate (Grade 12).

l Be willing to relocate.

l Do not possess a criminal record.

l Preferably be single.

l Are medically fit and prepared for basic military training over a period of 22 weeks.

l Candidates must compile a short CV: sporting, academic and community work achievements will be given preference.

THOUSANDS of South African soldiers deployed on international peacekeeping missions in Africa are standing trial for a range of serious criminal and military offences including murder, rape, assault and refusal to obey lawful commands.

This was revealed in a report released by the University of Pretoria’s think-tank, the Institute of Strategic Studies.

The report, “South African Army Priorities and Roles in the Early 21st Century”, revealed that a total of 2 159 military trials and cases of disciplinary misdemeanours had taken place in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Sudan in the past six years.

There are now 2 739 South African troops deployed in the countries on UN and African Union peacekeeping and peace-enforcement missions.

It reported that Burundi was the worst when it came to ill-disciplined South African peacekeepers, with 929 military trials and 392 cases of disciplinary misdemeanours being recorded. The 929 military trials included 160 assault and four culpable homicide cases, two murder trials and one rape trial. Officers were next worst-behaved in the DRC.

The report was compiled by retired Brigadier-General George Kruys. He said external deployments were part of the problem, as there were “long periods of boredom with temptations of cheap sex and liquor”.

Defence analyst Helmoed Heitman said: “Discipline is bad because it not being taken seriously.”

Hundreds of South African soldiers deployed on international peacekeeping missions in Africa are standing trial for a range of serious criminal and military offences including murder, rape, assault and refusal to obey lawful commands.

This was revealed in a report by the University of Pretoria’s thinktank – the Institute of Strategic Studies.

The report: South African Army Priorities and Roles in the Early 21st Century revealed that a total of 2 159 military trials and cases of disciplinary misdemeanours had taken place in the DRC, Burundi and Sudan over the last six years.

There are currently 2 739 South African troops deployed in the countries on UN and African Union peacekeeping and peace enforcement missions.

Burundi is the worst country when it comes to ill-disciplined South African peacekeepers with 929 military trials and 392 cases of disciplinary misdemeanours being recorded between 2002 and 2008.

The 929 military trials included 160 assault cases, four culpable homicide cases, two murder trials and one rape trial.

The DRC was the second worst country for ill-disciplined South African troops with 264 cases of misdemeanours and 546 military trials being recorded during the same period.

Of the cases and trials, 81 related to assault, 90 to the refusal to obey lawful commands, while five were for indecent assault cases and three culpable homicide cases.

The report, compiled by research associate, retired Brigadier-General George Kruys comes after senior army officers, including the chief of the army, Lieutenant-General Solly Shoke, recently admitted that ill-discipline was a serious problem within the defence force.

Kruys said while the army had an excellent plan to address ill-discipline, the plan had to be followed if it was to be stamped out.

“The biggest threat facing the defence force is not an external threat, but the defence force itself,” he said.

He said while the strategic focus of the Department of Defence was to achieve an affordable, sustainable force design and structure by 2025 to defend and protect South Africa and its people, and to support the government’s strategy and its diplomatic initiatives in Africa, it could not be achieved if there was ill-discipline. “This is because undisciplined troops are not able to provide an effective defence with troops who are under fire more than likely to cease to be effective,” he said.

Kruys said external deployments were without a doubt part of the disciplinary problem. “It is reported that between 2002 and 2008 SANDF members on external deployments were found guilty of 495 cases of absence without leave, 473 cases of refusal to comply with lawful commands, 245 cases of assault, 189 cases of rebelliousness, 155 cases of drunkenness and 103 cases of guilt of conduct to the detriment of military discipline.

“This cannot and should not be allowed to happen,” he said, adding while there were good commanders within the SA military, there were far too many cases where senior officers were found guilty of misconduct and setting bad examples.

He said the army had to start diligence training to improve its discipline and combat efficiency.

“The long periods of boredom and largely idle deployment with temptations of cheap sex, and an abundant supply of liquor is no place for an army with disciplinary problems,” he said.

Kruys said to overcome its problems the SANDF needed the support of its top structure, the Department of Defence and government, “who have proven to be a problem with many politicians having little knowledge of military affairs and being generally disinterested”.

Defence analyst Helmoed Heitman said while the army had recognised the problem of ill-discipline within its ranks, discipline was still bad. “Discipline is bad because it is not being taken seriously with officers simply not interested in addressing the problems.

“It is at a stage now where senior officers have to get involved to counter the ill-discipline among the ranks,” he said.

Heitman said what made it so difficult was the number of senior officers who were being charged for serious offences such as assault and drunkenness.

“How does the army expect to be disciplined when you have cases like this?” he asked.

He said to address the problems the defence force had to get the basics right and hold everyone who contravened the military code accountable for their actions.

INSTITUTE for Security Studies (ISS) analyst Johan Burger yesterday said a proposed purge of top apartheid-era security officials would leave a bitter taste in the mouths of those dedicated to serving the country with distinction.

Burger urged president-elect Jacob Zuma to repudiate comments from ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe. Burger said Mantashe’s comments were “irresponsible” and “ridiculous”, and said people should be removed only where legal grounds existed for doing so.

Earlier this month Mantashe said the ANC planned to purge the security agencies of top apartheid-era civil servants, including former Bantustan officials.

A review of the security sector is among the priorities expected to be tackled by the next government under Zuma.

Mantashe said key people in security institutions were from the old order, with only a few from the military wings of the African National Congress (ANC) and Pan Africanist Congress (PAC).

Blaming the negotiated settlement for slowing radical change, Mantashe said transformation would be expensive but necessary.

Even within the ANC, not all security officials agreed with Mantashe’s assessment.

“What about our own people who are useless? It’s about capacity and skills development,” said a party official involved in the security sector.

Other insiders felt the military was already overstretched, under-resourced and in need of new direction. “Whether we have excessively deployed is a debatable question,” said one official.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is involved in continental peacekeeping operations in Burundi, Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Some insiders said there was also a feeling among some in the party that the intelligence services needed to revert to the old structure in which the head was a

co-ordinator of intelligence and not the minister of intelligence. A change in the structure had killed the concept of co-ordination, encouraging each security head to take intelligence directly to the president, said one official.

More than 5 000 invited guests are expected to join in the celebrations at the amphitheatre of the Union Buildings on 9 May.

Briefing the media on plans for the big event, Minister in the Presidency Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said the inauguration would be a culmination of the positive mood generated by the success of South Africa's fourth democratic elections.

Members of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, who will be sworn-in on on 6 and 7 May respectively will also join the celebrations.

The event will see heads of state, members of parliament, newly elected premiers, presiding officers of parliament, diplomats, and officials from the United Nations, African Union and SADC as well as the international business and community leaders descend on the city, the minister said.

Outlining the proceedings for the day, Minister Tshabalala-Msimang said the President-elect, Jacob Zuma, will take an Oath of Office in the presence of heads of states and government, including invited guests, presided over by the Chief Justice and the Head of the Constitutional Court, Pius Langa.

She added that the President-elect will be joined on stage by the South African National Defence (SANDF) Force Generals and South African Police Service Commissioners.

After taking the oath, the President-elect will observe a Guard of Honour as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to acknowledge the National Salute by the SANDF.

The National Salute comprises a salute flight by four South African Air Force helicopters and Astra Aircraft as well as a 21 round gun salute.

Minister Tshabalala-Msimang further explained that there will also be a mass fly-past and military aircraft display.

The lawns below the Union Buildings will also be packed with tens of thousands of people, bused in to witness the historic day.

According to the minister, over 30 000 members of the public are expected to be part of this historic event as South Africa celebrates 15 years of its democratic achievements.

There is also a cultural programme, with a number of artists lined up to entertain the public. In the provinces, there will be big screen events to allow people, outside of Gauteng, to join in the celebrations live in their own provinces.

In the evening, Monte Casino in Johannesburg will play host to a cultural programme, where artists like Jonas Gwangwa, Oliver Mtukudzi, Lira and African Footprint will entertain invited guests.

The glamorous event is estimated to cost R75 million - R60 million from the department of foreign affairs and R15 million from the department of public works.

Under the theme: "Together celebrating a vibrant democracy and building a better life for all' - the inauguration follows the resounding success of the fourth democratic elections, held last Wednesday, where millions of South Africans came out in their numbers to vote. -

"Liberia is building a new army and we are very strict regarding its standards," says Lieutenant Eric Dennis, who teaches international humanitarian law to recruits. In a country where previous armies - government and rebel alike - committed widespread atrocities, he hopes to help build a new institution that "will never tarnish the image of our army and our country. We want an army of professional soldiers."

Recruitment for the new army began only in 2006, and its 2,000 troops - some 100 of whom are women - are still being trained. Liberians are cautiously optimistic. A February 2008 opinion survey found that 55 per cent of Liberians polled expressed confidence in the army. That was less than the level of confidence in the national government and election system, but more than for the country's banks or courts.

A few thousand kilometres away, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), creating a new military is proving to be a more troubled process. Although UN peacekeepers and European advisers have sought to professionalize the force, there still have been incidents, especially in the troubled eastern provinces, of looting, rape and other abuses by troops.

"We soldiers are a reflection of the people, and therefore we must conduct ourselves so that the people see themselves in their army," Lieutenant Colonel Georges Mukole told a group of Congolese officers. But that image, he admitted, is still "being fashioned."

From South Africa to Burundi and Cote d'Ivoire, a number of other countries in Africa are also seeking to restructure and professionalize their armies, police and intelligence services. The process is fraught with difficulties, but is increasingly seen as vital for the continent's long-term peace and stability.

The momentum for such reform is growing as more countries seek to consolidate democracies or rebuild after debilitating wars, notes Major General Carl Coleman, a former commandant in Ghana's armed forces. Previously, political elites used their armies and police primarily to maintain power, "without any regard for the people that they governed," he told Africa Renewal in an interview at the Accra, Ghana, offices of the African Security Dialogue and Research (ASDR), a pan-African non-governmental think tank, where he is now a senior analyst. But in Africa's new democracies, "security" is now being redefined to place "people at the centre."

From problem to solution

For too long, General Coleman and others have pointed out, Africa's militaries, police and intelligence agencies were a major source of conflict and insecurity for ordinary Africans. Sometimes poorly paid, their ranks robbed and extorted civilians simply to get by. Presidents and other politicians used their armies to put down popular protests or eliminate rivals. And frequently, military commanders staged coups to take the reins of power themselves.

In a January 2009 ceremony, more than 100 new female police officers take their oaths in Liberia.

In Africa, as elsewhere, says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, "Security forces that are untrained, ill equipped, mismanaged and irregularly paid are often part of the problem, and perpetrate serious violations of human rights."

With little civilian oversight or public accountability, soldiers and police routinely were able to get away with the worst abuses. In some countries, notes retired Major General Ishola Williams, secretary-general of the Nigerian chapter of the anti-corruption advocacy group Transparency International, security institutions became part of a "culture of impunity and violence."

In a number of countries that have emerged from civil wars or long periods of dictatorship, reformers are seeking to break with the past. Usually as part of broader moves to democratize political systems, they have taken steps to restructure their security forces and subject them to the control of elected civilian governments.

"Security sector reform" (SSR) is the term most commonly used to describe such initiatives, although there are others. Whatever the variant, the concept of "security" extends beyond just "hard-core" institutions, such as the army and police, explains General Coleman. Preferably, the courts, prison systems and civilian oversight bodies, such as government ministries and parliament, should also be part of the reform process. "All of it is intertwined. You can't do one to the neglect of the other." The ultimate aim, he says, is to ensure the creation of security forces that guarantee "the protection of the ordinary person."

Emerging from war

Most African countries could use some degree of security reform, argues Kwesi Aning, head of the conflict prevention department of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, which instructs military and police personnel from across the continent. Even in Ghana, he told Africa Renewal during an interview at his KAIPTC offices, the army and police do not coordinate very well in handling local disputes, as in Ghana's strife-ridden Bawku region in the north. "Even in non-conflict societies, there is a need for much more effective oversight of security institutions, and for coordinating and consultative mechanisms."

However, the impetus for fundamental reform has usually been greatest in countries just coming out of war. In Sierra Leone, efforts to restructure the national army began in 2000, even before that country's decade-long civil war came to an end the following year. With significant funding from the UK and under the command of British officers and technical experts, the programme sought to restructure the armed forces from top to bottom.

The military was especially weak at the command level, with many of the most professional officers either dead or in exile, "so we had to grow this almost from scratch," Major General Jonathon Riley, the UK commander, later recalled. Meanwhile, the UN's peacekeeping mission helped to train the police.

The situation in Sierra Leone has remained relatively calm since then, including during the sharply contested election of September 2007. Not only did the security forces not interfere on behalf of the ruling party, as had happened frequently during the period from the 1960s through the 1980s, but they supported a smooth transition in power after the opposition won. Currently, the authorities are planning to reduce the army's size from 10,000 to 8,500.

In Angola, after nearly a quarter-century of civil war, peace was finally established in 2002. Tens of thousands of fighters from both sides of the conflict were disarmed and demobilized. Significant forces from the former rebel group were incorporated into the national army, and one national police force was created.

Burundi's national army and police were restructured in stages, after opposing armed factions in that country's civil war signed an initial peace agreement in 2003. Numerous government and insurgent combatants were demobilized, but many former rebels were also incorporated into the regular security forces. Plans to reduce the combined strength of the army and police from 25,000 to 15,000 have stalled since April 2008, however, as another rebel faction awaits incorporation.

In Cote d'Ivoire, a peace agreement in 2007 established a new coalition government and outlined plans for reintegrating the country, creating a unified army and holding national elections. But the disarmament and demobilization of combatants has proceeded slowly, and differences have arisen over how to forge a unified national army and police force.

Plans for security reform have also been discussed in a number of other countries, including the Central African Republic and Guinea-Bissau. But continuing political instability, reflected most dramatically by the killings of Guinea-Bissau's president and army commander in early March, has forestalled serious restructuring.

And in countries where some security reform measures have been initiated, they usually have not been well coordinated with other post-conflict steps, such as disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programmes for ex-combatants seeking to return to civilian life (see Africa Renewal, October 2005 and October 2007). At a June 2007 international conference on DDR organized by the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, an entire session was devoted to promoting better coordination between DDR and SSR operations.

South African transformation

One of the most far-reaching and successful military restructurings in the continent took place in South Africa. It was so fundamental and sweeping that South Africans prefer to call it a "transformation," not just a reform. Previously the South African army, supported by several pro-government ethnic "homeland" military forces, concentrated on defending the country's white supremacist political system against movements for liberation among the African majority. But with the end of apartheid and the first democratic election in 1994, virtually all government institutions were slated for overhaul.

South African peacekeeping troops in the Congo: After a thorough restructuring, South Africa's armed forces are now oriented towards defending democracy at home and peace abroad.

The guiding principle of South Africa's new approach, according to a 1995 defence strategy, was to ensure that the military, police and other security institutions took as their "paramount concern" the "security of people," to protect their freedom, peace and safety. Not only was that orientation radically different from that of the previous security system, it could only be realized through changes to these institutions' "racial, ethnic, geographic and gender composition," notes Major General Roland de Vries, a key figure in the early defence transformation process.

Accordingly, a new South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was created, starting in 1994, through the integration of seven different armed forces: the guerrilla wing of the victorious African National Congress (ANC), a smaller liberation group, the regular army of the previous regime and four "homeland" armies. That process was accompanied by steps to strengthen civilian control, including the establishment of parliamentary oversight and the "demilitarization" of the Ministry of Defence. The country's various police forces were similarly unified, as was the court system.

With further restructuring and training in subsequent years, the SANDF and the national police have been crafted into highly professional forces dedicated to combating crime and other forms of insecurity at home and contributing to African and international peacekeeping operations abroad. According to the late Colonel Rocky Williams, a former commander in the ANC's military wing, a number of factors contributed to the relative success of this transformation: a strong state, a robust economy and "the fact that South Africans themselves managed the transition."

Congolese minefield

As in South Africa, the conflict in the DRC ended with an agreement among the belligerents to bring their forces together into a new national army. But the results so far have fallen short. As Congolese Minister of Defence Charles Mwando Nsimba acknowledged in January, the army remains riddled with "widespread indiscipline at all levels, links with criminals, violence against women and the diversion of soldiers' pay."

The war in the DRC had been especially destructive, and it was also complex, involving numerous domestic factions and the armies of a half-dozen neighbouring states. In 2002 the main contenders signed a peace agreement. It established a power-sharing transitional government and included a commitment by the factions to demobilize some troops and merge the rest into a single army. After some delays, the country's first democratic elections were held in 2006.

The new constitution specified that "the armed forces are republican. They are at the service of the entire nation." According to Professor Mwayila Tshiyembe, a Congolese expert in international and military affairs, this notion of an army that does not only protect the government, but that also "defends democracy" and "guarantees the security of people and property," was the most innovative idea to come out of the peace accords.

Unfortunately, during the transition period partisan infighting led each faction to exaggerate the numbers of its troops. Many of these numbers were actually fictitious. Surveys by South African and European advisers later eliminated 130,000 "ghost soldiers" from the initial rolls of 340,000. Some 75,000 real troops were also subsequently demobilized.

More seriously, there was very little screening of troops. They included commanders of factions suspected of war crimes, and their patterns of behaviour have carried over into the new army.

Unsteady 'integration'

Creating unified structures for the new army proved especially troublesome. In theory there were to be 18 "integrated" brigades, in which troops from the different factions were merged, retrained and then posted to areas outside their home zones. This process, known by the French term brassage ("intermixing"), was intended to break down the old chains of command and forge loyalty to the new national institution.

A UN peacekeeper instructs Congolese troops: Training has also sought to promote human rights awareness and counter sexual violence.

General Gabriel Amisi, head of the army's ground forces, told assembled troops in August 2008 that they should not resist serving outside their home areas. "There are no soldiers of Katanga or soldiers of Kivu. You are all troops in a national army."

But some did not see it that way, especially in the eastern DRC. General Laurent Nkunda, a civil war commander, initially brought his troops into the army, but resisted their full integration or deployment to other areas. He claimed they had to remain in North and South Kivu to defend his ethnic group. As tensions revived, troops loyal to General Nkunda's Congres national pour la defense du peuple (CNDP) deserted their "integrated" brigade in 2006 and resumed armed actions, including against government forces.

With such incidents in mind, Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye, force commander of the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC), remarked to Africa Renewal in 2007 that the decision at the peace talks to amalgamate the different groups into a single army "was a really good idea" for ending the war. "But unfortunately, it didn't produce a good military."

In October 2008 fighting between the national army and General Nkunda's CNDP escalated into major confrontations. Some army units rapidly crumbled, and only a prompt deployment of MONUC peacekeepers prevented General Nkunda's fighters from taking Goma, the capital of North Kivu.

General Nkunda was arrested in Rwanda in late January, paving the way for a ceasefire. The government started talks with the remaining CNDP forces on their incorporation into the army. Father Apollinaire Malumalu, a leading Congolese mediator, welcomed the integration move as a possible step towards peace. But he also insisted that protecting civilians must come foremost and cautioned the authorities to not "fall into the errors of the past."

UN Secretary-General Ban, during a visit to the eastern DRC at the beginning of March, also urged care. He cautioned that no one accused of sexual violence "be integrated into the national army or police."

Meanwhile, MONUC instructors and other experts have stepped up the professionalization of the army's integrated brigades, in addition to improving the discipline of the national police. Hundreds of army officers have been trained in civilian-military relations and combating sexual violence. Enhancing the military's public image somewhat, hundreds of troops of the army engineer corps have been mobilized for reconstruction projects, to rebuild roads, bridges and other essential infrastructure.

The abuses by government troops during the Kivu fighting have also met with a prompt response. A number of soldiers and officers were tried and sentenced by military courts, some to life in prison. The army prosecutor in Goma reported in December 2008 that some 400 troops were under detention awaiting trial. There have been several cases elsewhere in the country, including of officers accused of embezzlement.

At a January seminar on reforming the army and police, Minister of Justice Luzolo Bambi Lessa emphasized the need to strengthen both the chain of command and the military courts in order to "quickly eradicate the flaws of corruption, embezzlement of state funds, sexual violence and violence against vulnerable civilians." The Congolese national police force has adopted a guiding "vision" statement committing the police to protect human rights in the country and vowing to sanction any police personnel who engage in abuses.

Liberia: small and professional

Like the DRC, Liberia suffered through years of devastating war, with numerous armed factions vying against each other. And as in the Congo, multiparty negotiations in 2003 established a transitional government in which most of the main groups were represented.

But there was one crucial difference: the peace agreement did not call for amalgamating the existing groups into a single army, but essentially for fashioning an entirely new armed forces. While the US was asked to "play a lead role" in training the new military, peacekeepers of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) took on the restructuring and reforming of the national police.

The building of a new army did not actually begin until 2006, after democratic elections replaced the coalition transitional administration with a new government headed by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. By that point, more than 100,000 fighters from the old factions had gone through a disarmament and demobilization programme directed by UNMIL. More than 14,000 more were slated for demobilization from the old national army and the Ministry of Defence.

The peace accord had stipulated that the soldiers of the new Armed Forces of Liberia "may be drawn from" the previous armed groups, but as individuals and only if qualified. When recruitment began in January 2006, more than 12,000 Liberians applied - for a force of just 2,000 troops.

The selection criteria were very rigorous. To be accepted, applicants not only had to be physically fit, but needed to have had at least 12 years of schooling. "Vetting" panels assessed each candidate's suitability. This included eliminating anyone involved in past human rights abuses. Recruiters travelled to the candidates' home communities to verify their records and encouraged the public to come forth with information about them. Ultimately, three-quarters of all applicants were rejected. More failed the initial training courses.

The recruitment drive also sought some ethnic and geographic balance, contrary to previous military forces, which often favoured one ethnic group or another. The government hoped that 20 per cent of the recruits would be women, but could not find enough applicants - the proportion is currently around 5 per cent.

For transparency and ownership

While many Liberians applaud the goal of building a professional army that will not prey on civilians, certain aspects of the initiative have stirred controversy. A number of security analysts have questioned the decision to build an army of just 2,000 troops. That may be sufficient in the short term, while UNMIL continues to maintain basic security, but what happens when the peacekeepers leave? Will such a force be able to contain a new insurgency or guard Liberia's borders, in a region that has known numerous wars and conflicts?

According to Thomas Jaye, a senior researcher at the KAIPTC who prepared an assessment for Liberia's Governance Reform Commission, "the decision to train 2,000 soldiers for the army was influenced by the purse and not by any threat assessment." General Coleman of the ASDR, referring to donor-directed security reform initiatives more generally, said: "They want to see it done, but they want to do it only cheap."

The US government's decision to subcontract the training of the new army to two private US security companies has also brought criticism, in part because the details of those contracts are secret. "A lot of money has been spent," President Johnson-Sirleaf told researchers for the International Crisis Group, a non-governmental think tank based in Brussels. "We do not know what on. There's simply not enough transparency and accountability in the way this money is spent."

Some also point to the absence of public consultations to help identify Liberians' views about the types of security structures they would like. The Governance Reform Commission, which advises the government on broad reform initiatives, has expressed concern over "the lack of participation of civil society and the national legislature in the SSR process."

Amos Sawyer, head of the commission and a former interim president, notes that technical training, however proficient, will not by itself create the kind of army Liberia needs. He recalls that "every armed group that plundered Liberia over the past 25 years" had troops that were trained by US experts. The real problem was political. To ensure that the new army and other institutions are under effective political control and serve the interests of the nation, his commission insists on more "local ownership" of security reform efforts.

Widening the debate

That is an issue that extends well beyond Liberia. Proponents of reform generally agree that broad national consultations should help shape SSR programmes and build public support for them. But in the difficult conditions that usually prevail after war, when new governments are struggling to get on their feet and address the many challenges of economic and social recovery, public discussions on military or police reform have been rare.

Security reform advocates argue that government officials and military commanders in Africa should no longer be suspicious of public scrutiny of security arrangements. Similarly, General Coleman of the ASDR urges African civil society groups to become more actively engaged. "Civil society has a critical role to play," he says. But to avoid stirring resentment, he adds, they should proceed with some tact, "without being too hard on the government and without appearing to be the tool of an external [donor] agency."

The UN, which is working to better coordinate its own support for security reform efforts in Africa and other parts of the world, seeks to promote wide consultations. "SSR models are too often imposed by external actors," says Assistant Secretary-General Dmitry Titov, who heads the peacekeeping department's Office of the Rule of Law and Security Institutions. "Should we not focus on the end recipients of SSR, that is, the population, the societies and governments living in insecurity? Shouldn't it be their ambitions and vision driving SSR efforts?"

Africa itself must take greater initiative, insists Major General Martin Agwai, a Nigerian officer who served as deputy force commander of the UN peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone. "African nations must stand up and accept the torch of responsibility for transforming their own security sectors," he argued in 2003. "Africans must kick-start this process themselves, and the assistance of the broader international community will follow."

AS HOSPITALS in the northern areas of Tshwane turn patients away, the Health Department is threatening to fire hundreds of striking doctors.

More than 336 doctors from Dr George Mukhari Hospital and 24 from Jubilee Hospital have ignored a court interdict issued on Friday barring them from striking.

Gauteng Health spokesman JP Louw said: “At this point we are seriously looking at issuing the striking doctors with letters of dismissal. We are also looking at reporting them to the Health Professions Council of South Africa. The government understands and it is not that we are insensitive to their issues, but there is procedure to follow and negotiations are continuing. So there is no reason or justification for doctors to go on an unprotected strike.”

The doctors are demanding occupational specific dispensation (OSD) payments, which then Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang promised in June 2007 would be implemented last year.

Louw said the “no work, no pay” principle would apply to the striking doctors.

Although the military has been called in to assist at George Mukhari, ambulances have been told to take patients to the Steve Biko Academic and Kalafong hospitals.

Steve Biko has also been forced to take in patients from Jubilee Hospital. Jubilee, the only hospital in Hammanskraal, is turning away patients at the gates.

One nurse, who did not want to be named, said Jubilee was a disaster. “People are going to die very soon. Without doctors no one can live. We want the soldiers to come back. All the staff here are worried about the situation,” she said.

Yesterday the SANDF deployed medical officers to the hospital but they were recalled at about noon and redeployed to George Mukhari where the situation was “more urgent”.

When Pretoria News went to Jubilee yesterday afternoon, nurses expressed their anger at the situation as they walked through empty wards and waiting areas.

A sister, who holds a senior position, said the hospital could not take in any patients as no one was sufficiently qualified to assist them. “We are not coping. We want (the military) to come back,” the sister said.

SANDF spokesman Colonel Louis Kirstein said the decision to deploy medical officers at Jubilee was a joint one between the SANDF and the Department of Health.

Recalling the officers to George Mukhari was a decision by the department through their analysis of where their most urgent need was.

When Pretoria news visited Steve Biko yesterday, the hospital appeared to be running normally.

A nurse from Jubilee who had accompanied three patients to Steve Biko said most of their patients were discharged on Friday. He said some wards were completely empty while others only had a handful of patients.

A nurse at Steve Biko said patients with serious conditions were referred from Mamelodi and George Mukhari hospitals.

Yesterday a spokesman for the striking doctors, Dr Rapitse Malatji, said the strike was continuing and affected “many hospitals” across the country.

Both the SA Medical Association (Sama) and Cosatu urged the doctors to return to work.

Yesterday the striking doctors met Sama and a mediator, said Malatji. “Sama should not represent us. We want to be directly involved,” he said.

Malatji was dismissive of the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council, where the department finally tabled an OSD proposal on Friday. The council meets again later today.

THE DEPARTMENT of Health has called in the military to help at Dr George Mukhari Hospital in GaRankuwa, which has been crippled by the doctors’ strike.

Last night an SANDF spokesman, Colonel Louis Kirstein, said: “At this stage the department has not requested military assistance at another hospital. We are in contact with them and we will put plans in place if further deployments are necessary.”

Twenty-four military doctors assisted by a group of medical support staff moved into the hospital on Saturday.

A medical officer, Doctor Shaheen Hassim, said they were soldiers first and medical officers second.

“Being deployed here is just part of our duty. We will follow our commands and provide a service to anyone who needs it,” he said.

THE DEPARTMENT of Health has called in the military to help at Dr George Mukhari Hospital in GaRankuwa, which has been crippled by the doctors’ strike.

Last night an SANDF spokesman, Colonel Louis Kirstein, said: “At this stage the department has not requested military assistance at another hospital. We are in contact with them and we will put plans in place if further deployments are necessary.”

Twenty-four military doctors assisted by a group of medical support staff moved into the hospital on Saturday.

A medical officer, Doctor Shaheen Hassim, said they were soldiers first and medical officers second.

“Being deployed here is just part of our duty. We will follow our commands and provide a service to anyone who needs it, no matter how long it takes,” he said.

Captain Rina Smith said being a nurse was the same no matter where she worked.

“It is a vital service no matter where it is required. My work is providing a service and so I enjoy being here and providing people with the necessary care,” she said.

A concerned mother, Dolly Tebogo Molefe, who brought her three-year-old son, Kutlwano, to the hospital, said she was relieved to see that soldiers were at the hospital and could treat her son.

“I am happy that the soldiers are here. They are going to give my son medicine and my son is going to be fine again,” she said.

But there seems to be no relief in sight as the Doctors’ Forum representing striking doctors said yesterday that they would continue to strike in Gauteng despite a court interdict granted in favour of the Gauteng Health Department on Friday barring doctors from participating in what the Labour Court calls an unlawful and unprotected strike.

Last week 26 North West doctors were fired for striking. Yesterday national health department spokesman Fidel Hadebe said the 26 had been reinstated on condition that they did not continue to strike.

The strike is illegal because doctors are part of an essential service.

Health Minister Barbara Hogan has pleaded with doctors to go back to work, but Doctors’ Forum spokesman Rapitsi Malatji the strike would go ahead.

Malatji said the South African Medical Association (Sama) was not willing to listen to doctors’ grievances.

“We have asked them for a meeting… but it seems they have their own personal interest because they do not want to meet with the forum. So we will continue until they acknowledge us,” he said.

Asked if doctors were concerned about the oath they took to put their patients first, Malatji said patients were the responsibility of the government, which was supposed to take care of doctors so they could care for patients.

“We are unappreciated by the government, but we are expected to offer our services. A doctor at entry level gets a basic salary of R7 000 – how can we survive on this? So doctors have to work overtime to earn at least about R10 000. They promised us better working conditions and improved wages – why this is not being sorted out?’ he asked.

It has been two weeks since doctors went on strike over wage increases and improved working conditions.

At the core of the problem is the nine-month delay in the implementation of the occupation specific dispensation (OSD) that has already been paid to nurses.

Government doctors are being underpaid by between 50 percent and 75 percent, according to a study by Sama.

Last week the association distanced itself from the strike, describing it as premature.

This follows the department’s action last Friday to table proposals about the occupation-specific dispensation salary structures and working conditions for public sector doctors, dentists, pharmacists and emergency medical services according to an agreement between the association and the health department.

Health spokesman Fidel Hadebe said should the doctors not adhere to the interdict the court would probably take further measures.

He said the doctors’ actions were regrettable as they put patients’ lives in danger.

Hadebe said the doctors concerned should explain to the public why they had opted for industrial action while the bargaining council was in the process of resolving their problems.

“We are still committed to a speedy resolution of this matter,” he said.

Hadebe said talks were set to continue on Wednesday.

TWO SOUTH Africans are among seven heavily armed men arrested in South Africa in connection with the attempted assassination of Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili in a foiled coup.

The pair, who were arrested in the Free State yesterday, were caught after Lesotho armed forces fought off heavily armed groups in fierce gun battles in the capital, Maseru, early onWednesday.

The seven, who are said to have been caught with numerous heavy calibre weapons, are believed to have been part of a 16-man team, which includes Mozambican nationals who were trying to overthrow the Lesotho government and apparently establish a new political order.

The group launched their attack on the presidential residence soon after they had stormed a military barracks on the outskirts of Maseru where they captured guns and armoured vehicles and kidnapped Lesotho soldiers.

Those involved are believed to have had paramilitary training, with several rumoured to have been part of the former 32 Battalion of the SADF.

Police crime intelligence sources said SAPS and SANDF members, who were deployed with helicopters, were reacting to information about the pending escape and set themselves up at strategic points along the border to catch the first two suspects on Wednesday morning.

The remaining five, including a man who accidentally shot himself, apparently when he dropped his gun while fleeing, were caught on Wednesday night and yesterday morning.

National police spokeswoman Director Sally de Beer said the arrests had been carried out in collaboration with their Lesotho counterparts. She said six of the suspects were being detained at an undisclosed facility, while the wounded man, who was shot in the stomach, was in a South African hospital under tight police guard.

While De Beer declined to say how he was shot, she said no South African or Lesotho forces had been involved in his shooting.

She said the two South Africans were arrested on Wednesday morning and four Mozambicans on Wednesday night.

“Yesterday one more suspect was arrested,” she said, but declined to say where the suspects were caught or what weapons were found in their possession.

She said the arrests were made by a team from the SAPS borderline policing unit, organised crime unit and crime intelligence unit, along with the SANDF which had played a vital role in the swift operation.

De Beer confirmed that at least two of the seven were South Africans while four were Mozambicans. At this stage, the nationality of the wounded man is unknown.

“Intensive investigations are under way as part of the joint operation between Lesotho and South African forces to catch the remaining suspects.

“Depending on whether the men have committed crimes in South Africa they could also face charges here,” she said, adding that it was not known when the men would be extradited to Lesotho.

She said charges against the men were still being formulated.

Maseru resident Clelia Cbarbadoroe told the Pretoria News by phone that the capital was calm last night and no curfew had been implemented.

“Besides being told to go home early, everything is normal with taxis and people still moving around the city.

“All that we have been told is that those involved were dressed in military uniforms and were from South Africa and Mozambique. We do not know more than that,” she said.

President Kgalema Motlanthe, who is the SADC chairman, condemned the attack and said such acts had no place in the region.

Law enforcement agencies continued to monitor the situation at Wembezi Township, outside Estcourt last night, after acts of political intolerance at some of the polling stations in the area.

Early yesterday a small group of unruly IFP supporters tore down ANC flags from a cavalcade before blocking the road with rocks at Wembezi Township’s C Section.

Additional SAPS, the SANDF and military police forces were later deployed to prevent the situation from deteriorating.

IFP members then gathered outside the main polling station in the area before the arrival of ANC provincial chairman Zweli Mkhize.

Clad in IFP regalia and chanting anti-ANC slogans, these supporters made it clear that they “did not want any ANC members in C Section”, considered an IFP stronghold.

Mkhize visited the polling station in the township hall where he interacted with the public, amid jeers from IFP supporters who were kept at bay by heavily armed police and army personnel

Later, at Emahhashini also in Wembezi, a confrontation between IFP and ANC members was averted by the presence of the army and the police.

Mkhize visited the area and spoke to leaders from both parties, telling them they had to take responsibility for the actions of their members.

The police and SANDF had their hands full trying to avoid clashes between the rival groups who had gathered on either side of the main road in the township.

The ANC accused the IFP of busing supporters from C Section into the area, while the IFP said that their supporters had been provoked by the presence of Mkhize’s armed bodyguards.

The IFP Umtshezi constituency chairman said the party viewed the presence of bodyguards, who were “brandishing big guns”, as a tactic used to threaten IFP supporters.

Mkhize said the situation at Wembezi was worrying because it could have easily erupted into violence.

“This is definitely the area to watch. Everywhere else it has been quiet and there is excitement everywhere. People are excited to be voting and the mood is very good,” he said.

Mkhize also voiced concerns about marked ballot papers found in Ulundi. He said that the clashes between ANC and IFP supporters and the marked ballot papers were an embarrassment for KwaZulu-Natal.

No other major incidents had been reported by last night. Mkhize also visited other polling stations in Estcourt and surrounding areas.

Another ANC heavyweight to visit the area was Siyabonga Cwele.

Cwele, who is also the minister of intelligence services in KZN, said yesterday that police would remain in Wembezi until Friday, but their presence could be extended if necessary.

There were no reports of political violence in KwaZulu-Natal on election day, provincial safety MEC Bheki Cele said on Thursday.

"I have not received even a single report of political motivated incidents of violence," said Cele.

"I would like to thank all the guys for the excellent job they have done. They managed to ensure that there were no tensions in all the hot spots."

Nongoma, Estcourt, Ulundi, KwaDukuza, Greytown, Umsinga and hostels were identified as hot spots by security cluster ministers who spent six weeks assessing South Africa's state of readiness for the elections.

In Nongoma, 270 police officers were deployed while another 200 were deployed in Ulundi a few weeks before the elections.

Members of the national intervention police unit and the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) were deployed in Nongoma after the eruption of tensions between the Inkatha Freedom Party and the ruling African National Congress in January.

Sixty people were arrested in election-related matters and 25 illegal firearms were seized including three AK-47s in the weeks before the election.

In the run-up to South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994, tens of thousands of people were killed in political clashes in KwaZulu-Natal.

IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi yesterday reiterated that today’s national elections would not be free and fair.

Speaking to the Daily News from his office in Ulundi last night, Buthelezi said that he was not happy about the clashes between his party and the ANC, stating that the ruling party had constantly intimidated their members by using government resources such as the police.

“I have also come to understand that guns which the police claimed they found in some of our members’ homes recently, were actually part of an exhibition collection.

“If the police were really concerned about such things, why did they not start their operation earlier? Why did they wait until election time?” he asked.

Buthelezi said he could not say what his expectations were for today because everything would be determined by the actual elections.

“We have done everything we could to canvass, and all we can do now is wait for the results.

“What I can say is that I am happy that there are monitors to observe the elections and we really appreciate that,” he said.

Worried

Despite Buthelezi being worried about the fairness of today’s elections, hundreds of IFP supporters around Ulundi centre hooted in a motorcade just outside the Garden Court Hotel, while others stood around waving IFP flags, chanted victory songs claiming they were going to win the province.

About 79 000 voters are expected to vote in Ulundi and 75 000 are expected to place their marks in Nongoma – both areas are considered IFP strongholds and have been identified as hot spots by police and electoral officials.

About 200 voting stations have been set up between the two areas.

Community Safety and Liaison MEC Bheki Cele said that they had taken the necessary precautions with 270 uniformed policemen, 60 National Intervention Unit members and 40 SANDF soldiers in Nongoma, while in Ulundi there were 200 uniformed police, 40 NIU members and 40 SANDF members.

There were also two helicopters which would assist in emergencies.

The IEC yesterday administered an additional 8 000 special votes to people with ill health, the disabled, and the heavily pregnant and members of the SANDF and police force.

This brought the number of special votes administered in KZN over the past two days to more than 17 000. The deadline for new applications for special votes had been extended to Monday to allow voters in rural areas another chance to file applications.

The casting of special votes started on Monday with more than 9 000 people casting their votes. Provincial Electoral Officer Mawethu Mosery said the past two days had been very quiet and no acts of intimidation had been reported.

He said the commission could not rule out any possibility of last-minute intimidation which could be expected today as voters take to different polling stations across the province to cast their votes.

Meanwhile the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal said yesterday it had lodged complaints with the commission after alleged acts of vote manipulation were reported in Ndwedwe and Mtubatuba.

Senzo Mchunu, the ANC provincial secretary, said the party had laid a complaint against one electoral presiding officer in Mtubatuba who refused to stamp the ballot paper from an SANDF member who cast a special vote.

In another incident, the ANC alleges that a presiding officer in Ndwedwe was allegedly seen opening an envelope containing special votes which had been cast. The envelopes are only supposed to be opened once the counting begins at voting stations.

Counting is expected to start at all polling stations as soon as voting is completed. Mosery said the results slips from each individual polling station would, for the first time, be scanned and made available on the IEC’s website.

Jacob Zuma’s libel case against The Guardian continues with the UK-based newspaper refusing to retract all the allegations or publish an apology. The paper has, however, agreed to apologise for false allegations of rape and has agreed to publish a correction that corruption charges against the ANC president had been dropped. The article with the headline “Get used to a corrupt and chaotic South Africa. But don’t write it off” was published on March 6. Zuma said in a statement yesterday: “Apart from the false statements published, it is of great concern to me that The Guardian article disrespects our Zulu culture, the ANC and ordinary Afrikaners in this country.” The proceedings are taking place at the High Court of Justice in London. – Shaun Smillie

Soweto police are investigating how a box full of live army ammunition ended up in a stretch of veld next to a filling station in Diepkloof Zone 3. Police found the box yesterday. According to the law, only the SANDF is authorised to use LMG ammunition, which is normally used with machineguns. – Bongani Masango

Cape Town sex workers yesterday won a court order to stop police arresting them when they know that prosecution is unlikely to follow. The order, by Cape High Court Judge Burton Fourie, followed claims by sex workers that police were carrying out arrests merely to harass and intimidate them. One sex worker told the court in an affidavit she had been taken into custody about 200 times over a period of six years, but never prosecuted. – Sapa

The Eastern Cape Health Department has launched a probe into a batch of paediatric tonsillectomy operations that went awry. This comes after a nurse noticed that seven children, who were operated on at Port Elizabeth provincial hospital last week, had burns on their tongues from the cauterising instrument used in the procedure. – Sapa

A former senior cashier at the University of Cape Town who was found guilty last month on five counts of fraud involving the theft of R1 001 869 in student fees is to be sentenced on May 30. Jennifer Prime, 44, of Muizenberg, was to have been sentenced yesterday, but her defence counsel said he wished to lead the testimony of a probation office. – Sapa

Three people were killed when the taxi they were travelling in burst a tyre on the N1 near Bela-Bela in Limpopo on Sunday. In another accident in Limpopo on Sunday, the driver of a Mercedes died when he lost control of his car at Noordhulp farm. – Sapa

Three people, including a 17-year-old girl, were arrested in connection with the murder of a shebeen owner at the Angelo informal settlement in Boksburg over the weekend, Ekurhuleni police said yesterday. The shebeen owner was shot and killed on Friday, allegedly during an argument with the suspects. – Sapa

Over 2 500 employees at AngloGold Ashanti’s Moab Khotsong shaft were due to down tools today to mourn two colleagues who died in mining accidents last week, the National Union of Mineworkers said yesterday. On Friday, a mineworker was killed during a fall of ground, and another on Saturday during a mud-rush. – Sapa

A former Absa Bank branch manager in Cape Town, who allegedly stole R167 520 from the bank’s clients, is expected to go to trial next month. Melanie Pieterse, 36, yesterday made her second appearance in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court, where the case was postponed to May 28. Pieterse is accused of embezzlement while she was manager at Absa’s Westgate Mall branch in Mitchells Plain. 

Government has deployed enough security personnel in KwaZulu-Natal’s volatile areas to quell any politically-motivated violence during and after Wednesday’s elections.

Speaking to Sapa in Nongoma in northern KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday, provincial safety MEC Bheki Cele said his assessment had shown that security personnel would be able to contain any possible election-related violence in the hotspots.

Nongoma, Estcourt, Ulundi, KwaDukuza, Greytown, Umsinga and hostels were identified as hotspots by security cluster ministers who spent six weeks assessing South Africa’s state of readiness for the elections.

“Security personnel including the intelligence have been keeping a watchful eye on the hotspots and we are confident that they will manage to contain any acts of violence,” said Cele.

He said 270 police officers had been deployed in Nongoma and more than 200 in Ulundi. The two areas are Inkatha Freedom Party strongholds.

They had experienced tension between IFP and African National Congress members in the past few months.

Members of the national intervention police unit and the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) were deployed in Nongoma after the eruption of tensions between the IFP and ANC in January.

Cele said 60 members of the unit had been deployed in Nongoma, 20 in Ulundi. Some 40 SANDF members had been deployed to monitor the situation in both areas.

The unit had so far arrested 60 suspects on election-related matters and seized 25 illegal firearms including three AK-47s.

“We are happy with their achievement so far and this makes us believe that elections will be held freely,” said Cele.

He said the SA Police Service (SAPS) was using a helicopter and a small aircraft to monitor the situation in Nongoma and Ulundi.

Army helicopters were also flying in two areas on Tuesday.

The situation in Nongoma and Ulundi looked calm on Tuesday and there were no reports of tensions as the police carried out their daily operations.

Nongoma was identified as one of the hotspots after a member of the Zulu royal family and an ANC MP, Prince Zeblon Zulu and his daughter-in-law, Dorris Zulu, were shot and wounded immediately after leaving an ANC rally in Nongoma in February.

Six ANC members were also injured when the buses they were travelling in were hit by stones.

ANC chairman of the Nongoma sub-region, Bongani Ngcobo, was shot at the ANC office in that area. He was hit in both legs.

Some people are unhappy about the deployment of security personnel in Nongoma and Ulundi.

IFP leaders complained they were deployed by an ANC government to intimidate IFP supporters ahead of the elections.

The party complained that its secretary-general Musa Zondi was manhandled by the SAPS on Tuesday while taking his party's election campaign to Nongoma.

On Tuesday, scores of election observers were monitoring the situation in Nongoma and Ulundi. Cele visited polling stations on Tuesday and he will remain in the area until Friday.

Soweto police are investigating how a box full of live army ammunition ended up in a stretch of veld next to a filling station in Diepkloof Zone 3. Police found the box yesterday. According to the law, only the SANDF is authorised to use LMG ammunition, which is normally used with machineguns. – Bongani Masango

Cape Town sex workers yesterday won a court order to stop police arresting them when they know that prosecution is unlikely to follow. The order, by Cape High Court Judge Burton Fourie, followed claims by sex workers that police were carrying out arrests merely to harass and intimidate them. One sex worker told the court in an affidavit she had been taken into custody about 200 times over a period of six years, but never prosecuted. – Sapa

The Eastern Cape Health Department has launched a probe into a batch of paediatric tonsillectomy operations that went awry. This comes after a nurse noticed that seven children, who were operated on at Port Elizabeth provincial hospital last week, had burns on their tongues from the cauterising instrument used in the procedure. – Sapa

A former senior cashier at the University of Cape Town who was found guilty last month on five counts of fraud involving the theft of R1 001 869 in student fees is to be sentenced on May 30. Jennifer Prime, 44, of Muizenberg, was to have been sentenced yesterday, but her defence counsel said he wished to lead the testimony of a probation office. – Sapa

Four men shot and killed a 31-year-old man in Delft at the weekend, Western Cape police said. Melikhaya Mtati was killed in the Tsunami informal settlement. The motive for the attack was unknown. – Sapa

Three people were killed when the taxi they were travelling in burst a tyre on the N1 near Bela-Bela in Limpopo on Sunday. In another accident in Limpopo on Sunday, the driver of a Mercedes died when he lost control of his car at Noordhulp farm. – Sapa

Three people, including a 17-year-old girl, were arrested in connection with the murder of a shebeen owner at the Angelo informal settlement in Boksburg over the weekend, Ekurhuleni police said yesterday. The shebeen owner was shot and killed on Friday, allegedly during an argument with the suspects. – Sapa

A crime-combatING operation has led to the arrest of 255 people around Braamfontein, Hillbrow, Parktown, Berea and Joubert Park. The crimes committed include drug possession and car theft. Meanwhile, a total of 86 people were arrested for various crimes – ranging from public drinking to housebreaking – in Benoni over the weekend, Ekurhuleni police said. – Sapa

Over 2 500 employees at AngloGold Ashanti’s Moab Khotsong shaft were due to down tools today to mourn two colleagues who died in mining accidents last week, the National Union of Mineworkers said yesterday. On Friday, a mineworker was killed during a fall of ground, and another on Saturday during a mud-rush. – Sapa

A former Absa Bank branch manager in Cape Town, who allegedly stole R167 520 from the bank’s clients, is expected to go to trial next month. Melanie Pieterse, 36, yesterday made her second appearance in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court, where the case was postponed to May 28. Pieterse is accused of embezzlement while she was manager at Absa’s Westgate Mall branch in Mitchells Plain. – Sapa

Maintaining impartiality is a vital aspect of the mammoth task Pansy Tlakula, a former member of the SA Human Rights Commission, has to fulfil, writes Fiona Forde

One of the country’s biggest logistical operations will go into full swing tomorrow when the elections get under way. Rain or shine, 19 700 polling stations are expected to open their doors at 7am to 23 million South Africans who have registered to cast their votes.

The process will be facilitated by the 205 000 electoral staff who have been appointed by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

It has taken 18 months and more than R800 million to get this far. “That’s the cost of democracy,” says Pansy Tla-kula, the woman who, as the IEC’s chief electoral officer, has kept her finger on the pulse these past few months to ensure the operation runs smoothly. But given the nature of the mammoth task at hand, there is still a mountain of work to be done.

Though most polling stations will be housed in schools or other public structures, there are still hundreds of tents waiting to be erected today to serve as temporary polling stations around the country tomorrow.

“They can’t be erected any sooner for security reasons,” Tlakula explains.

It is also for security reasons that the ballot papers, ballot boxes, voting booths, marking ink, stamps, results slips and other stationery cannot be distributed until tomorrow morning. That goes for all polling stations, regardless of size.

And they vary, from the largest in the Joburg inner city, with more than 12 000 voters on its roll, to the smallest in the Northern Cape village of Benede, with just six.

The scale of this operation makes Tlakula’s one of the most stressful jobs there is. Yet she is confident she is on top of her job, though there are several factors that remain outside of her control.

At 7am tomorrow, she will be at the election results centre in Pretoria, waiting for polling day to begin. As each of the polling stations open, the presiding officer will send an SMS to IEC headquarters. The SMS is captured on the computer system as an alert that that particular station is open and ready for voting.

Problems arise, however, when SMSes don’t arrive and the green lights don’t go on – such problems are intensified if the polling stations are in rural areas.

“Say it is in Meir, which is in the middle of nowhere, about 200km from Upington. If a voting station has not opened in Meir, I have to phone the provincial electoral officer in Kimberley. He then has to phone somebody in Upington, where our municipal electoral office is, and that person then has to drive to Meir to find out why the (station) is not open,” she explains.

It can and does happen. In 2004, not all polling stations were up and running until 11am. And Tlakula is prepared for the worst.

It could just as easily happen that some staff will walk off the job during the day.

“I’ve been there,” Tlakula says. “Some abandoned ship in 2006 during the night. They said it was too much work and just walked away.”

She’s also keeping an eye on the weather; poor conditions and heavy rains could make some roads impassable.

Though the SANDF is on standby to dispatch helicopters, it is something that could adversely affect voter turnout, which Tlakula is anticipating to be about 80 percent.

Electricity supply is also a concern, particularly this year, given the added features in the IEC’s electronic system.

For the first time, each station’s results slips – which capture the parties’ performances at the national and provincial level – will be scanned into the system to help eliminate discrepancies or disputes.

Given that the electoral staff members will be hard at work throughout tomorrow and late into the night, Tlakula is anticipating a “rush on the system” early on Thursday morning to compute the results through to the Pretoria base, and she can only hope that the bandwidth will hold out and the lights will stay on.

It’s a risk, but one she is happy to take as it adds to the transparency of the process. Updating the system came with a price tag of R83m. “That’s the cost of transparency.”

Counting up to 23 million votes is no mean feat, but she is adamant she has a system in place that is robust and rigorous enough to do an accurate count.

“We have developed it in such a way that it can flag any exceptions,” she says.

Such anomalies might include a station throwing out a final tally of 4 000 votes where only 200 voters are registered. “Or if the ANC gets 200 votes for the national and only gets 20 for the provincial. Then the norm says there’s usually consistency between the national and the provincial, that voting patterns are consistent. Then something that we call an issue tracker flags it and it will be raised… with the polling station” and a recount begins.

As the count continues, it will be scrutinised by independent auditors and political parties. It’s only when that period lapses, and when each dispute has been adjudicated, that the IEC will be able to call the election, though the overall picture will have started to emerge from the screens at the results centre.

Tlakula, a human rights lawyer by training and a former member of the SA Human Rights Commission, joined the IEC in 2002. She has been through two elections – the 2006 municipal elections and the 2004 general elections.

“Every election is different,” she says, “but this one has largely been defined by political intolerance.” That said, she is not anticipating any major intolerance or violent outbreaks tomorrow.

“This country is not on fire. It will never be on fire again and it will never go back to pre-1994.” But she does warn the powers-that-be not to drop their guard until after the new president has been inaugurated.

In her years at the IEC, she has built up a good rapport with the various political parties, and her organisation is recognised as one of the most reputable in the country.

“That’s down to impartiality,” she says. “It’s about being independent. About applying the law equally to all the parties. And never cutting deals with anybody.”

Last week she was forced to fire 67 of her electoral staff when it emerged that they were also registered as party candidates. “It’s human nature,” she says. “They thought they could take the chance. The system caught up with them and we removed them as electoral staff.”

She remains tight-lipped about her own future at the IEC and whether she will see her 10-year contract through to the end. “I’m not thinking about it. I’m thinking about this election.”

Soon she will start focusing on the 2011 municipal elections. “That’s just the way it works around here.”

Many ANC activists argue for a 67% or 70% majority in the 2009 general election. Most of my comrades who argue for this overwhelming majority say that it is necessary to ensure that social transformation is completed. Under present circumstances this argument is legally, socially and morally flawed and untenable. In the past 10 years we have had about 70% of the votes cast. Under the leadership of then president Thabo Mbeki and his then deputy president, Jacob Zuma, -- and especially between 1999 and 2004 -- a tremendous disenchantment of voters with the ANC and all political parties occurred. Why is this so? Political life has changed fundamentally for the better in South Africa. This is in large part because of the ANC, its history, vision and capacity to unite the country and avoid a brutal racial civil war.

Sadly, the proportion of the votes cast allowed our leaders to become arrogant and to fail poor and working-class communities in the areas of education, health, housing, water, transport, safety and security and employment. The need to fulfil the promise of real freedom and dignity for all people, especially the majority of black African people in our country, remains as pressing as ever. Instead of transformation we have presided over a corrupt political system and state bureaucracy supported at the top by private sector cronies locally and globally. This made me part of that group of citizens that have come to believe that our party's anthem is no longerNkosi Sikelel' iAfrikabutLove Me Tender, sung lustily at every shrinking branch meeting. The majority of people who support the ANC but who do not vote, or who spoil their ballots, also see that inevitable poll victories may actually undermine delivery. So here are several reasons to consider some humility, contrition and grace in asking our people for their votes to gain a simple majority, never mind to demand an overwhelming two-thirds majority.EducationDo we need a two-thirds majority to ensure that every child gets a decent education? We have had 70% of the vote and control of all nine provinces, but the inequality in our education system and the intellectual dispossession of African and coloured working-class children is deeper than at any time under apartheid. How will two-thirds fix broken windows, increase the number of libraries, improve the qualifications and competence of teachers, ensure that parents can assist their children with homework, support teachers who often face hungry, neglected and ill children as well as a broken system with no textbooks?HealthThe public health system has crumbled, with the same number of health workers (250 000) in 2008 as we had in 1997. Numbers actually declined before the antiretroviral (ARV) roll-out programme. The disease burden has substantially increased. Certified TB deaths rose from about 20 000 to 80 000. The population increased from about 42 million to 46 million. Our overwhelming majority of the vote has not translated into improved health services for our people. The ANC has recognised this in prioritising healthcare. Why did we not use our majority to replace the director general of health for these failures? Or, much more than that, replace him for the fact that since the passing of the Public Finance Management Act in 1999 neither the national department of health nor the majority of provinces has had a clean audit.Safety and securitySafety and security is one of the most pressing problems in our country. Again the ANC has prioritised its realisation. I do not doubt the need for more effective policing, but neither the ANC nor any other political party has a safety and security policy that moves beyond "vang hulle en hang hulle". Is that why a two-thirds majority is called for -- to go back to barbarism instead of progressively tackling the causes of crime? Do we need a two-thirds majority to have after-school care, including homework support, drama, music and sport for all learners? Evidence from all societies that have used after-school care as a measure to improve the quality of life of children and youth has also demonstrated a dramatic decline in crimes that young people commit, ranging from petty theft and assault to robbery and rape. Surely, a two-thirds majority is unnecessary to ensure that informal settlements have roads, lights, demarcated plots and safe water?CorruptionThe arms deal has corrupted more than our party's politicians, state officials and the businessmen who benefited -- it has compromised our Parliament, the NPA, the auditor general, the public protector and it helped establish a culture of impunity among those with political and economic power or influence. Most importantly, with our parliamentary majority, the ANC defended then president Mbeki, who placed himself outside the law and above the Constitution. Mbeki and the whole Cabinet promoted a corrupt, economically damaging deal with multinational corporations from Britain, Germany and Sweden, among others. Surely, following the Polokwane recommendations with the Cosatu resolutions and their principled opposition to the arms deal, we can take some action on this. We do not need a two-thirds majority to organise a genuinely independent commission of inquiry with investigative powers to restore confidence in our elected leaders and in our governance institutions. ANC president comrade Jacob Zuma has promised to get rid of all corrupt, lazy and incompetent officials. He says this task will take 10 years. Section 195 of the Constitution is clear about ethical, professional, accountable, efficient, open and honest government. Do we need a two-thirds majority to implement the Constitution and clean out corruption from public life?HIV/AidsApart from a handful of courageous people, the two-thirds majority failed to produce resistance to the collective madness of Mbeki's HIV policy between 1999 and 2006. Then the bubble finally burst in Toronto at the government's vegetable stall. Denialism is now dead, but not its effects. Access to ARVs and the promotion of criminal behaviour such as that of Matthias Rath were not the only issues in the struggle against denialism. What about Naledi Pandor, who refuses to make condoms available in our secondary schools? Is she immune to evidence that every public school will have an educator, learner or support staff member who has HIV? Or what about the leader of the split, Mosiuoa Lekota, who refused to employ or deploy members of the SANDF with HIV until the courts told him to do so? Just to ensure a two-thirds majority, the darling of the Mbeki administration -- Manto Tshabalala-Msimang -- still makes it into the top 30 of our party's list. And is she to be rewarded with a new "Ministry of Women"? Am I in Wonderland, or do we intend to use our majority as a "changed" ANC to give the person responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of women that position? In fact, we don't need a two-thirds majority to apologise, as we should do, and hold a commission of inquiry to uncover why we all stood by while more than 900 people a day died.Labour standardsGlobal minimum and fair labour standards are surely achievable without a two-thirds majority. Such a position, and such a campaign, will galvanise the majority of working people and the middle class. This is not true only for clothing, textile and manufacturing jobs. Accountants, computer programmers, managers (whose livelihoods are also threatened by outsourcing) can be won to such a campaign for solidarity with the workers of China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and other countries where people are paid starvation wages.

This is not only a question of solidarity, it is necessary to demand a level field for all poor people to access decent jobs. Instead, at the behest of multinational corporations, we compete against one another to see who can achieve the lowest standard of living and the shortest and most undignified life. There can be no sustainable growth without fair trade, fair labour practices and accountable corporate governance globally. Can't the trade unions lead such a campaign on a sustained and persistent basis with facts and rational argument -- or does anyone suggest it can be done only when the alliance has won a two-thirds majority?My voteI can think of many reasons why the ANC -- the party I endorse in the 2009 election -- should humble itself and beg the electorate simply to give us their votes, not proclaim that we need a two-thirds majority to do our job. I endorse the party to fight inside it for a commission of inquiry with investigative powers to examine the arms deal; to campaign inside the party for a truth and reconciliation commission on HIV/Aids; to demand an open, accountable and ethical public service that puts people first. In the ANC, and with my vote, I will also demand a genuine safety and security programme and a policy and campaign to realise fair trade, fair labour practices and corporate accountability globally. With this endorsement and vote, I will return to be an active member, to work with progressive cadres to restore party democracy, to achieve social justice, freedom and the rule of law.

The Justice and Crime Prevention Security Cluster has painted a gloomy picture of possible political violence resurfacing in KwaZulu-Natal ahead of elections on Wednesday.

The cluster, which is made up of Safety and Security Minister Nathi Mthethwa, his deputy, Susan Shabangu, Minister of Intelligence Siyabonga Cwele, deputy minister of Justice Johnny de Lange, Defence Minister Charles Nqakula and his deputy, Fezile Bhengu were in Nongoma on Friday.

The politicians expressed concern at a “potential” political intolerance in the province.

They identified six areas and hostels as being “hot spots”.

The cluster said of the nine provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, particularly Nongoma, was the most worrying area.

“KwaZulu-Natal remains a major cause for concern especially for potential political intolerance in Nongoma, Estcourt, Ntabamhlophe, Ulundi, KwaDukuza, Greytown, Msinga and the hostels,” said Mthethwa.

He said they were, however, proud of the results of their intervention in the past few weeks.

He said they managed to deploy the national intervention unit, intelligence units and the SANDF to unmask the perpetrators.

“In this regard, the units have arrested 60 suspects over election-related matters, with one unfortunate death in Nongoma.

“Overall in the entire province we recorded nine fatalities. Of the nine deaths, police managed to make a breakthrough in six cases,” said Mthethwa.

He said law enforcement agencies had collectively managed to recover 22 illegal firearms, including three AK-47s, one R5 assault rifle, two 303 rifles, a shotgun, 12 9mm pistols, two revolvers and one home-made gun.

Mthethwa said the SANDF would not be withdrawn from Nongoma following allegations that the IFP had threatened violence.

AmaTuks coach Steve Barker admires Uncle Clive — but he wants to be his own man as he guides underdogs in a fairytale Nedbank Cup campaign

The idea is to be brave. I encourage my players to unlock defences by using their natural ability while playing with a lot of pace, energy and enthusiasm

BARENG-BATHO KORTJAAS

HIS name is Steve Barker but feel free to call him The Puppy. The softly spoken University of Pretoria coach even sounds like a puppy.

But don’t be fooled. Steve, nephew of Clive “The Dog” Barker, has a mean bark and a bruising bite — Kaizer Chiefs and Bloemfontein Celtic can bear testimony.

Giving instructions runs in the Barker blood: Clive guided Bafana Bafana to South African football’s finest moment, African Cup of Nations glory in 1996.

And Steve, by taking his first division upstarts to the Nedbank Cup semifinals where Ajax Cape Town await, is standing two hurdles away from another soccer triumph.

AmaTuks, University of Pretoria to the uninitiated, are making huge strides towards reaching that goal. Their giant-killing spree has already seen cup kings Chiefs being ripped apart in a merciless mauling and then Celtic were brutally eliminated.

“These players are enjoying the run,” says Barker. “They don’t get TV exposure every weekend. Competing against Bafana Bafana players and getting the better of them inspires my boys.”

The Chiefs side that AmaTuks beat 4-3 in the last 16 of the competition boasted the Bafana starting duo of Itumeleng Khune and Siphiwe Tshabalala.

But who is Steve Barker? And what is his claim to coaching fame? A former SA Air Force lieutenant-colonel, the 41 year old is swelling the military contingent in the PSL — Santos coach David Bright is a major in the Botswana army and league chairman Irvin Khoza is an honorary SANDF colonel.

A holder of a Uefa “A” licence, Barker coached the SAAF and SANDF teams before leaving the armed forces in 2006.

The seven years he spent at Wits University between 1990 and 1997 saw him shuttle between the central midfield, right wing and right back positions. His last stint was with SuperSport United under Shane McGregor in 1998 before he hung up his boots.

“Coaching was a natural progression. When I left the army I joined AmaTuks, working with youth development.”

It was a seamless transition since training and youth development were his areas of expertise in the military. “I was appointed technical director in 2006 when Sammy Troughton was head of the first team.”

When Troughton left for Durban Stars last year, Barker doubled up as head coach.

Energy, pace and enthusiasm are the cornerstones of his style, traits AmaTuks exuded in abundance against Chiefs and Celtic.

“The idea is to be brave. I encourage my players to unlock defences by using their natural ability while playing with a lot of pace, energy and enthusiasm.”

He has a knack for making inspired substitutions — witness his introduction of Thulani Notyhawe in the last-eight clash with Celtic.

“Throughout the week at training he had this hunger in his eyes. He has been on the fringes and was excited to see his name among the substitutes,” says Barker.

“We were dominating Celtic but were unable to break through. With seven minutes to go I decided to throw Thulani in. I told him if any player deserved to go out there and make a name for himself it was him.”

No one picked up the 20-year-old from Thembisa as he came on and when the ball landed in his path, Notyhawe fired a fine low shot that sent AmaTuks through to the last four of the most lucrative cup competition on the African continent.

Barker, who has a sport fitness and exercise BTech degree from Pretoria Technikon, is making a habit of it — the same scenario played itself out in the last 16.

Two of the goals scored in the seven-goal thriller against Amakhosi were the work of another second-half substitute, Phenyo Mongalo.

“Steve told me to get the ball and go straight at Chiefs’ captain Jimmy Tau because he is not a good tackler,” says Mongalo, who is from Botswana but was a Chiefs’ fan in his childhood. “And when I put two past them I was beyond myself with joy.”

The romance of the Nedbank Cup is that the small dogs get to mix it up with the top dogs — and the thrill of it all comes when the underdog wins.

“A lot of their dreams come true when that happens,” says Barker. “Phenyo had a serious knee problem two years back and it is nice to see him come back with a bang. Some players in the PSL are earning good salaries but there is more hunger in the first division.”

Three members of the team — left-sided midfielder Aubrey Ngoma, central midfielder Brian Ncala and striker Katlego Shoro — are full-time students at the university.

“Seven others are studying part- time through various institutions while striker Thokozane Sekotlong is doing his matric,” he says.

AmaTuks’s campaign in the inland stream sees them lying second, four points below Jomo Cosmos, with two matches to go.

“We are not going to let it slip. Our purpose was to win the league but finishing second will qualify us for the playoffs. The gap is not that huge. First-division football is cut-throat. There is so much to lose if you get relegated to the Vodacom league yet so much to gain if you get promoted to the PSL. It is a pressurised environment.”

Though he wants to follow in Uncle Clive’s footsteps, he does not want to live in his shadow. “My uncle was one of the greatest coaches the country has produced. There are a lot of things that inspire me about him.

“The way he treats his players, he walks the walk with them and creates an environment for them to thrive. But I want to be known as my own man.”

The nation is deeply divided. Jacob Zuma, the president of the ANC, is no longer under indictment for serious criminal offences – corruption, graft, racketeering, tax evasion etc. On Monday the Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions, Mokotedi Mpshe, announced that the NPA was withdrawing all charges against Zuma.

From statements made by Zuma subsequently and those by the leadership of the ANC, it is being suggested that Zuma has been acquitted or has been proved innocent.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

It is correct, of course, that our constitution enshrines that every citizen is innocent unless proved guilty.

To that extent Zuma is innocent. But it is not correct to say that his “innocence” has been established by due legal process.

Mpshe was at pains to point out that the NPA remains satisfied that there was a solid case for prosecution against Zuma. He revealed that there was some difference of opinion within the NPA as prosecutors argued that the alleged interference with the investigation did not compromise the integrity of the prosecution as such and the evidence available to the prosecution team was unaffected by the allegations.

But serious questions remain about the motivation and the merits of Mpshe’s actions.

By his own account, it appears that there was no justification for the withdrawal of the charges.

With the benefit of the Harms judgment at the Supreme Court of Appeal last January, he would understand that the wrongfulness or otherwise of the investigation does not vitiate the integrity of the prosecution itself, which was unaffected by the flawed process alleged. Also, Mpshe clearly misused the principle of “coming to court with clean hands”.

It simply means that anyone approaching the court for relief should not himself be guilty of wrongful conduct in regard to the subject matter before the court.

There is no allegation that the taped conversations were about a conspiracy to lay false charges against Zuma. Mpshe himself made the decision to charge Zuma after the ANC Polokwane conference without having been aware of the conversations. Presumably, his decision was not affected by the alleged plot.

It is instructive that Bulelani Ngcuka, the former National Director of Public Prosecutions, had incurred the wrath of Zuma by his refusal to prosecute Zuma, even though there was “prima facie” evidence of criminal conduct.

It is now generally accepted that Ngcuka had taken a political decision at the time that he must now deeply regret. That unleashed a barrage of attacks against Ngcuka, including accusations that he had been an apartheid spy. He endured the Hefer Commission and was eventually hounded out of the NPA.

What about those tapes? It is truly amazing that Mpshe should have relied on the tapes to the extent that he did.

It appears that the authenticity of the tapes has not been established, and those against whom allegations are made have not been allowed an opportunity to establish the credibility of the tapes.

By all accounts, the tapes may well have been manipulated or corrupted. It would seem that Mpshe was just clutching at straws here. But the manner in which he has relied on the tapes is deeply offensive to anyone’s sense of fairness and justice.

At the end of the day I hope that Zuma, who expects to become the president and head of state after the elections, understands that he can only claim a pyrrhic victory. This means a victory won at too high a cost to be of any use to the supposed victor. In 280 BC King Pyrrhus invaded Italy and defeated the Romans but sustained such heavy losses that his victory was at a too high a cost to be of value to him.

So, too, I hope that Zuma will ponder the cost of his victory. Not only is this a matter of the R100 million spent on this investigation or the R11m spent on his own defence over the years, it is about what Zumaism has done to the fabric of our national life.

The NPA now lies in tatters without a shred of credibility in the public eye, including the dissolution of the Scorpions.

Any semblance of fighting crime as a result sounds hollow.

Zuma is already making noises about reducing the influence of the Constitutional Court just because he has never won any of his appeals in that court.

By way of judges Chris Nicholson and John Hlophe, the courts are embroiled in unseemly conflict.

The National Intelligence Agency, by all accounts, is involved in partisan politics which raises questions about the reliance that the head of state can have on the material and analysis presented to him on the basis of which decisions that could affect the life and death of many are taken.

It is notable that within the Zuma inner circle serve such intelligence stalwarts as Lindiwe Sisulu, former intelligence minister Billy Masetlha, former director-general of national intelligence and General Siphiwe Nyanda, the retired chief of the SANDF. No wonder that the national intelligence operatives have conflicts of loyalty.

The ANC under Zuma is driving this country towards a totalitarian state where the will of the party prevails and subordinates all other opinions and formations to its own will.

The principle of separation of powers is constantly being violated. The party controls all that it surveys. The party is the state and the government is the party. No public institutions are immune from this totalising effect: the SABC, SAA, universities, the judiciary.

The private sector must also dance to the tune of the party and pour backhand financial contributions to the party and its leading lights. The party demands total subservience to it.

Totalitarian is defined as “one-party, monocratic, undemocratic, absolute, despotic, dictatorial, authoritarian, oppressive” etc, according to my Oxford Thesaurus. Is that what the struggle for liberation and the defeat of apartheid promised?

I do not believe that. If that is the way we are being driven, I fear that Zuma’s can only be a pyrrhic victory.

Pyrrho was a Greek philosopher (365 BCE) who held that certainty of knowledge was impossible and that true happiness must come from suspending judgment. That is a very tempting thought. But April 22 is around the corner. As citizens and electors we can no longer suspend judgment.

We must act. With our finger in the dike we can hold back the prospect of Zumamania.

l Barney Pityana is the vice-chancellor of Unisa. He writes in his personal capacity

POLICE have smashed a suspected gang of bogus cops and soldiers – recovering a bulletproof vest, an army uniform and a military issue semi-automatic assault rifle – in raids throughout Pretoria.

The arrest of two men believed to be behind a reign of terror east of the city comes hours before a dairy farmer and his wife were murdered on their farm in Boschkop yesterday.

Thursday’s arrests saw specialised detectives swarming through three city suburbs in a bid to capture those behind a spate of violent attacks in Boschkop, Brooklyn and Garsfontein.

Detectives from the Bronkhorstspruit Trio-Crime Task team, who were backed up by members of the Diplomatic Policing Unit, were following up on information when they made the arrests.

In the first raid, police raided a Lotus Gardens home, west of Pretoria, where they arrested a man who led them to his suspected accomplice’s house in Atteridgeville.

Police also stormed a shack in the township’s Vergenoeg informal settlement and arrested a second suspect and recovered three rifles, including a South African military issue R-4 semi-automatic assault rifle and two magazines for the army issue firearm.

Atteridgeville police station spokesman Inspector Daniel Mavimbela said that during the raid, police seized two .303 hunting rifles as well and ammunition. Both the hunting rifles were fitted with telescopic sights.

He said further information led police to several other houses in Atteridgeville and Olievenhoutbosch where they recovered an SANDF uniform, a police issue bulletproof vest, televisions and a Sony music centre.

“The recovered stolen appliances are valued at between R25 000 and R30 000,” he said.

Mavimbela said the two men, who are both 35 years old, would appear in the Atteridgeville Magistrate’s Court soon on charges of possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

Police spokesperson Captain Dennis Adriao said information had positively linked the men to house robberies in Boschkop, Garsfontein and Brooklyn.

He said investigators were following up on information on another suspect who is part of the gang which has been terrorising homeowners in the various areas.

“We know who this man is and it is now just a matter of time before we catch him,” he said.

Adriao said the recovered guns would be sent for ballistic testing to determine whether they have been used in the commission of other crimes.

“If they have, more charges could be added against the suspects,” he said.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the remaining suspect can contact Crime Stop on 086 001 0111.

COPE leaders have expressed concern about the ability of the police to deal with election-related complaints.

John Nkuna, Cope’s deputy chairman in Mpumalanga, said yesterday they had had difficulty convincing police to act on an incident they wished to report, but were eventually able to file a complaint of intimidation and disruption at the Kabokweni police station near Nelspruit.

The ANC were alleged to have mounted large election trucks near the entrance of a hall booked by Cope for a meeting at the weekend and at which the speaker was Cope’s second deputy president, Mbhazima Shilowa.

The ANC had also offered ANC T-shirts to people arriving for the meeting, Nkuna said.

About 100 people had turned up to listen to Shilowa, but many had been too intimidated to attend the meeting.

When Cope had tried to file a complaint, the police had not known how to formulate the charges, Nkuna said.

Nkuna said the party had filed about nine similar complaints of disruption against the ANC.

Cope was considering taking this case to the Electoral Court, where penalties included subtracting votes from a party or even disqualification from the election, he said.

Meanwhile, Juli Kilian, a Cope national committee member, said Deputy Police Commissioner Andre Prius had failed, for the third time, to attend a safety meeting with party representatives at the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) headquarters in Pretoria yesterday.

They had been unable to reach Prius on his cellphone.

Police spokesman Dennis Adriao said Prius had been visiting possible election hotspots with Safety and Security Minister Nathi Mthethwa and the IEC had been aware of this.

He said representatives of the police, the National Intelligence Agency, the SANDF and other safety bodies were part of a “priority committee” dealing with election-related safety which met regularly.

RECEIVING a free bag of mealie meal was nothing short of a miracle for 20-year-old Mbangeleni Oshabeni who heads his family of three, orphaned by Aids.

He told POST the family lived constantly on the brink of starvation and there was no way to get food.

Mbangeleni, a standard four pupil (grade six), said his siblings aged 10 to 14 were always undernourished and sick. He felt very discouraged because of their daily hunger.

They were orphaned three years ago, leaving him the sole head of his family of three brothers.

Financially devastated, Mbangeleni had grown desperate and even considered migrating to Pietermaritzburg or Durban in search of a job to help provide for his family.

Mbangeleni said he and his siblings depended on odd jobs and handouts to overcome their hunger. But getting chores and charity were not always that simple for this family. He recalled many nights when they would go to bed not having eaten anything for the day.

On Saturday, visitors from the South African Defence Force 1 Medical Battalion under Colonel Dave Perumal changed his mind, and his future.

Representatives of the business sector, who are patrons of SANDF medical corps, descended with truckloads of food staples, clothing, other groceries; household items and toys to distribute their charity to the needy of St Faith’s Convent of Assisi in the KwaZulu Natal village in the southern Midlands.

The food parcels and mainly clothing were part of the joint private-military partnership of SANDF, and their patrons who sponsored charity distribution at drought and poverty stricken villages around St Faith’s mission.

Natural disasters, disease, inflated prices and job losses in these deep rural villages triggered widespread poverty among the residents.

Spokesman for the initiative, Vassie Chetty, said working with the needy brought out a sense of depth of the poverty and economic crisis poor people encountered in their daily lives at St Faith’s and other rural areas.

Working with SANDF, the patrons also helped distribute nutritious meals.

“If it were not for the help from the soldiers and their patrons, my siblings would have had yet another bleak weekend of hunger. But now we are happy and relieved and can look forward to going to school next week. May God bless them and their helpers,” Mbangeleni said.

In addition to these relief efforts, this private-military sector’s collaboration continues to support food security projects elsewhere in the province.

IT’S ONLY a few minutes since the match started, but the crowd is already cheering wildly as Bafana Bafana leave their Iraqi counterparts chasing shadows with dazzling play.

The exhilarating atmosphere at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park Stadium dips when, against the run of play, a penalty is awarded against South Africa. At this point, a section of the crowd starts hurling objects at the referee, prompting match officials to stop the game. But this decision sparks more trouble as more irate fans invade the pitch and start chanting in protest.

The date is June 14 and it’s the opening match of the Confederations Cup – a test event for the World Cup. Millions of fans across the world are watching as the scene unfolds. Within minutes, police in riot gear dash on to the field, charging at the crowd. Suddenly, the pitch is engulfed in thick teargas as the protesters scream hysterically while scattering in all directions.

In the mayhem, many are arrested. This is the scenario that unfolded recently when |Johannesburg Metro Police staged their crowd control simulations in preparation for the Confederations Cup and 2010 World Cup.

The mock exercise was part of the police’s safety and security plans to hone their emergency reaction and disaster management skills in preparation for the two tournaments.

The latest simulation came after an earlier joint exercise between the police and the SANDF, which simulated securing the airspace over Pretoria and Rustenburg and dealing with mock terrorist threats.

Johannesburg Public Order Police Unit Captain Dolf de Bruin, who led the simulation, said although the police would use maximum force to quell any violent situations in 2010, it would be done with caution.

“The weapons used and level of force would depend on the scenario,” he said.

“Teargas and stun grenades are acceptable crowd management tools worldwide, but they must be used with caution.

“You need to make sure that there is ample space for the protesters to disperse when using them,” said De Bruin, citing last weekend’s stampede in Ivory Coast that left 19 fans dead and 130 injured.

De Bruin said armoured vehicles, water canons and shields were indispensable in quelling violent situations without causing stampedes.

“We are not only focused on the Confederations Cup and 2010. This is part of our long-term crowd and disaster management strategy. The two tournaments have only given us an impetus to fast-track our training.”

THE Defence Department has embarked on a major drive to sign up 11 000 recruits by 2011.

The move is aimed at filling the scarce skills gaps in the department and empowering youngsters across the racial spectrum.

The recruitment campaign was being carried out in line with the Military Skills Development Systems and was focused mainly on rural areas and previously disadvantaged youngsters, the department’s spokesman, Sam Mkhwanazi, said.

Depending on their interests, the recruits would be trained to become pilots, engineers, professional health workers, naval combat officers and air traffic controllers, among other occupations, said Mkhwanazi.

In the Western Cape, the exercise took place last week, “but it did not go very well”.

The recruiters had, however, created awareness of what the department was offering.

Among the department’s targets were Grade 11 and 12 pupils in schools in the Saldanha Bay municipality and communities on the Cape Flats, such as Langa, Guguletu and Khayelitsha.

Mkhwanazi said the department had made successful visits to North-West, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

“The primary aim of the Military Skills Development Systems is to rejuvenate the SANDF, provide it with scarce skills and serve as a feeder system for the defence reserves.”

The systems also seek to alleviate the shortage of scarce skills in the country and provide young people with a good head start.

“Since the establishment of the Military Skills Development Systems in 2003, the SANDF has recruited and trained more than 23 000 youths, of whom 12 000 have been appointed regulars,” said Mkhwanazi.

“More than 5 000 are available in the reserve service.”