Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and his counterparts from the SADC region had an unscheduled meeting in Cape Town on Tuesday to discuss growing tensions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

"It is a short agenda with momentous consequences," Lekota said, stating that the finalisation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) standby brigade had become urgent.

As chairman of SADC's interstate defence and security council, Lekota said he had called the "unscheduled meeting" to examine the implementation of the peace process in the DRC and Great Lakes Region. "We need to exchange views on the finalisation of the SADC Brigade of the African Standby Forces," he said noting with urgency that security situation in the Eastern Congo would be scrutinised.

He said SADC was becoming increasingly involved in "theatres of conflict" and the brigade would ensure that this responsibility was carried as a collective and not left to individual countries.

Lekota has in the past argued that South Africa's peace keeping capacity was stretched to the limit. The South Aafrican National Defence Force [SANDF] has embarked on aggressive recruitment drives to boost numbers.

He refused to divulge if the meeting would also discuss a stepping up of activity by the United Nations' Monuc force, or if the SADC Brigade, once formed, would be deployed in the DRC.

Defence spokesman, Vuyo Zambodla, said the main drive of the meeting was to try and get a "collective approach" to the DRC and how best to move forward.

He said discussions were scheduled to last for two days.

Violence continued to keep tensions high in the DRC, that due to a lack of infrastructure development over the last 30 years, was seen as a logistical nightmare.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan last Thursday called for reinforcements for UN peacekeeping troops in the DRC following an upsurge in violence after a deadly ambush by local militias.

On February 25, nine UN peacekeepers, all Bangladeshi troops, were slain in DRC's volatile Ituri region.

"I hope, over time, we'll be able to strengthen the forces (in the DRC) and that we will get the support from the (Security) Council," Annan told reporters two days after the UN launched an attack with armoured vehicles and an attack helicopter against militia, killing 50.

South Africa already has 1,348 SANDF members operating under the UN mandate in Operation Mistral and a further 79 members working with the DRC government under Operation Teutonic.

South Africa, however, may be called upon to increase its strength in the region.

Annan said last week that the DRC was "a very large country and so the number of troops it had "may not be adequate."

"But we are doing the best we can with what we've go," he lamented.