Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

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