Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

SA NATIONAL DEFENCE FORCE The colour of their skills To show progress with transformation and rejuvenation of the military, the defence ministry regularly releases statistics showing the SA National Defence Force's (SANDF) racial profile. What is not readily apparent from these statistics, though, is the effect that transformation is having on the skills base and capabilities of the SANDF.

For instance, in August defence secretary January Masilela disclosed that 1189 members had left the SANDF under the voluntary mobility exit mechanism (MEM) that was instituted in August 2005. About 75% were white, 15% black, 7% coloured and 3% Indian.

This was a good thing, Masilela said, because it was opening posts mostly occupied by ageing white males, thus enabling black and women soldiers to move up into middle management positions notably the ranks of captain, major, colonel and brigadier general.

At the same time, Masilela assured parliament's defence committee that the military authorities were guarding against the exodus of scarce skills. But he offered no statistics on how these skills were either being retained or augmented.

Yet, last week defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota admitted in reply to a parliamentary question from DA military spokesman Roy Jankielsohn that while the defence force could recruit pilots and technicians to replace those leaving, it could not compensate for the loss in advanced levels of experience.

Lekota disclosed that 535 air force technicians and 70 pilots had resigned from 2004 to date.

Jankielsohn said it was clear that the SA Air Force faced a skills crisis; it would not be able to find suitably qualified personnel to fly and service the advanced aircraft coming into service over the next several years. He blamed the MEM and the racial quotas.

The 2006 defence annual report shows the SANDF had vacancies in nearly 37% of aircrew posts, 39% of engineers, 34% of all technical posts and 24% of airspace control positions by March 31 this year (see table).

But such data can be misleading, says the SANDF's director of human resource planning Brig Gen Dries de Wit. That's because the vacancies are calculated on a full force complement that would be required in a war scenario, with about 98000 soldiers instead of the current 75750. So the vacancies appear more severe than they really are.

In reality, the SANDF vacancy rates are not much worse than those of the private sector, though the defence force will always struggle to compete with private-sector salary packages. At the end of the day, it's the love of military life that makes someone want to sign up with the SANDF, De Wit says.

The MEM, he says, is just part of a broader strategy to balance quality and quantity in the military. It must be viewed in conjunction with the military skills development (MSD) programme, which is bringing young recruits into the SANDF at a rate of 4000-4400/year. While the MSD draws in youth and fresh qualifications at entry level, the MEM aims to help ageing and stagnating personnel to leave, on a voluntary basis, at the upper end of the force.

One quick benefit has been the reduction of the average age of soldiers in lower ranks. In 2002 the average age of privates was 33 years. Now 47% are 30 or younger, and 42% are in the ideal age bracket of 18-24, compared with only 7% four years ago.

The SANDF receives upwards of 20000 MSD applicants each year, and since it can afford to pick and choose, it can insist on higher educational qualifications. For instance, all 200-300 recruits to the air force must have at least a matric pass with maths and science, says De Wit.

Meanwhile, for older soldiers the MEM provides voluntary withdrawal, including mentoring, succession planning, skills assessment and skills training under the military service corps.

To limit the loss of skills, De Wit says final agreement on MEM withdrawal lies with the defence force. For instance, of the 1403 MEM applicants that have been approved to date, 104 will be leaving in 2007 and two in 2008.

De Wit admits that a dearth of young white recruits in the MSD is cause for concern currently just 3,7% of privates are white, compared with 88,5% black. As a result, the SANDF has drawn up a personnel procurement strategy to market the force as an employer of choice among university students and school-leavers.

The SANDF has achieved its racial representativity goals in 2005. We have, in fact, exceeded the overall goals laid down in the Defence Review, so there is no reason why a white soldier joining today should not progress right to the top, De Wit says.