Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

The SANDF owes hotels and guesthouses in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) hundreds of thousands for accommodating South African soldiers.

Eighty-seven SANDF soldiers, who were supposed to be accommodated at Mura Military Base, now stay in guesthouses in the southern DRC area of Likasi.

It is believed the SANDF owes nearly R300 000 in accommodation bills for June.

The South African troops were deployed in February. They were sent there as part of a memorandum of understanding between South Africa and the DRC. They are supposed to be training up to 800 of their counterparts.

The SANDF has admitted that there have been logistical setbacks with the base, but would not give any specifics.

A South African soldier who contacted the Pretoria News from his guesthouse said the “entire thing is a complete mess”.

He said: “How are we meant to do any training if we can’t even set up a base properly? This makes us the laughing stock of the world’s defence forces. These guys think we’re amateurs.”

The officer said they initially paid accommodation bills of $80 (R640) a day, but when they heard they would have to foot the bills, they negotiated a reduced rate.

“We managed to get the bills reduced to $30 a day on condition that the bills would be settled.”

The soldier said the base was a health hazard. Two DRC soldiers had died of cholera in the past few months while there.

“It is terrible. No one should be staying at that base. Not even an animal should be living there.”

He said the base was meant to be completed before their arrival, but there was still no running water, showers or other amenities.

“It is impossible to live there.”

The soldier said they had been paying for their accommodation out of their own pockets.

“We’re given a daily allowance and were told that if we didn’t want to stay in the base, we had to make alternative arrangements and sort ourselves out.

“We were told that it is not the responsibility of the defence force to accommodate us, but that’s ridiculous. You can’t deploy troops and then expect them to sort out their own accommodation.”

Bagadele Hotel owner Haider Pordanderwala said he was owed more than $9 000 for providing rooms to 10 South African soldiers.

“When they told me what was happening, I agreed to reduce the rate from $80 to $30.

“I feel sorry for them and it’s really bad that the South African army doesn’t want to pay for its soldiers. It’s a shame and the army chiefs should be embarrassed.”

He said the soldiers had been good to him and his family. “They are among the best guests I have ever had. I’ll continue allowing them to stay here because it’s impossible for them to live at that base.”

A military source said this was a major embarrassment for the SANDF’s top brass.

“The last thing they want is for the country to know that they can’t pay the accommodation bills for soldiers being deployed on foreign missions,” she said.

SANDF spokesperson Major Ronald Maseko said the soldiers would be paid back.

“Every cent that is owed will be paid back,” he said.