Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is to undergo a major shake-up, army chief Lieutenant General Solly Shoke said yesterday.

Speaking at an annual state of the army media briefing in Thaba Tshwane yesterday, Shoke said the army would do away with red tape which was slowing down its 2020 Vision project.

The army’s 2020 Vision looks at how technology can best be used in the transformation and preparation of the army for any task it may be required to deal with, including deployments against threats or disasters.

Announcing his plans, Shoke said the shake-up would start at army headquarters.

“I want fewer commanders because the command span is currently too wide, with resources and assets too far spread out.

“We need to have our resources and assets brought together so that we can function properly and better as an army.

“The army must be flexible, and to be that we need to see it functioning in a quicker and smoother manner without all this ridiculous bureaucratic red tape and huge structures which are slowing us down,” he said.

Citing examples of the way the army was being inhibited, Shoke said that instead of outsourcing certain functions to private companies and individuals they would ensure that the military had the capacity to deal with whatever situation arose.

Asked if this was the reason the special works unit had been established instead of relying on the often inept Public Works Department, Shoke said: “The works unit is vital for the SA National Defence Force.

“The current facilities that are owned by the defence force are going down in a bad way. The works unit will be used to rejuvenate these facilities.”

He added that members of the works unit were being trained in a variety of skills which would enable them to properly maintain the army’s wide range of facilities.

“It is all about tightening up the ship,” he said, adding that they had learnt a lot from previous incidents where things had been done in ways they should not have been.

Shoke said the changes would be substantive and would add value, efficiency and effectiveness to the organisation.