South Africa revisted

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South Africa revisted; Part of the misery-loves-company series
Tweet Topic Started: May 28 2005, 09:41 AM (482 Views)
adroth	May 28 2005, 09:41 AM Post #1
Member Posts: 1,127 Group: Regulars Member #13 Joined: July 12, 2004	Old news, but things usually don't turn around that quickly. South Africa's army 'unfit' Tuesday, 16 July, 2002, 10:57 GMT 11:57 UK http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2129563.stm Most of South Africa's army is either too unfit or too old to be operationally deployed, according to a parliamentary report. Only 3,000 out of 76,000 soldiers could be deployed and only four tanks could be used in action, according to a briefing by the defence department. The chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on defence, Thandi Modise, has called on the defence minister to present a plan to remedy the situation within three months, according to the Sunday Independent newspaper. Military analyst Herman Hannekom of the Africa Institute knows the contents of the report and told BBC News Online that it should start a national debate and the defence force should go back to the drawing board. Among the examples of the defence force's plight presented to the committee was the possibility that up to 60% of soldiers could be HIV positive. The army has estimated the infection rate at between 17 and 23% but the briefing document quoted an unnamed medical specialist at a military hospital as saying that six out of every ten soldiers admitted to hospital tested positive for HIV. Seven out of every ten deaths in the armed forces are Aids related, the parliamentary committee was told. But Mr Hannekom said that the problem with estimating the HIV rate was that "honest statistics" were not available. Too many generals The department of defence has not said why so many troops are unfit or too old for operational service. A department spokesman told BBC News Online that a press conference would be held on Tuesday to give its response to the report. The briefing said that many soldiers were aged between 32 and 36. An opposition spokesperson on defence, Roy Jankielsohn of the Democratic Alliance, said that the usual age of an infantryman was between 18 and 22. Many soldiers were therefore too old for operational deployment. The army stopped recruiting in 1994 when the armed wings of the African National Congress (ANC) and Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) were integrated into the defence force, according to Mr Jankielsohn. It is not only the age and medical state of soldiers that presented a problem, the report detailed. Only four out of 168 Olifant tanks and eight of 242 Rooikat armoured cars were operational. The air force was reportedly short of fuel and usually ran out of fuel by September each year. MPs were also told that the army was "top-heavy" with one general for every 293 men compared with one to 2,000 men in the United States army.
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datu	May 30 2005, 08:00 AM Post #2
Member Posts: 338 Group: Regulars Member #415 Joined: March 28, 2005	How the mighty have fallen. The defenders of SouthWest Africa. Theyre not succumbing to bullets of their enemies but they are falling to another enemy, "social equality" programs, and AIDS. Australia has something similar. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050523/wl_as...HNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
	"*Fck it, Dude. Let's go bowling**." ---The Big Lebowski


saver111	May 30 2005, 05:18 PM Post #3
PDFF Moderator Posts: 10,625 Group: PDFF Mod Group Member #408 Joined: March 23, 2005	And look at those Aussies , how they belittle our AFP? Our AFP is so ill equipped but still could fight. Sa kanila kulang lang ng gamit, they would rather quit. As for the SA armed forces, similar to what our country is having. More priorities is now given to other country's problem than the military. With the black people given equal share, it has used up all its funds to addressed problems plaguing their country. Maybe we could try to check if we could get bargain armaments down there. Like food for suprlus military equipments?
	Justice for Daniel Lorenz Jacinto HELP END PIRACY NOW!: http://www.itfseafarers.org/petition.cfm


adroth	Jun 6 2005, 06:53 AM Post #4
Member Posts: 1,127 Group: Regulars Member #13 Joined: July 12, 2004	The Army struck back at the previous article South Africa denies army in crisis Tuesday, 16 July, 2002, 16:29 GMT 17:29 UK By Barnaby Phillips BBC correspondent in Johannesburg http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2131914.stm The South African Government has reacted angrily to reports that the country's armed forces are in a state of serious crisis. The national defence force is on course and the national defence force is equal to its task. Mosiuoa Lekota, Defence Minister Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota dismissed with contempt suggestions that South Africa's forces are not up to the task before them. Newspaper reports citing a briefing given to MPs by senior soldiers have reported that more than half of South African soldiers are unfit and that morale is at rock bottom. Minister Lekota said the South African armed forces are perfectly placed to fulfil their obligations. He denied reports that up to 60% of South Africa's soldiers may be HIV positive. Financial strain The defence minister said new and comprehensive figures at his disposal showed that a maximum of 23% are infected with the virus. He did admit that the forces are under financial strain. He said that South Africa's pressing social problems, and the need to redress inequalities between races, made it inevitable that defence spending should be coming under pressure. "South Africans must accept we're busy managing a revolution. "But the national defence force is on course and the national defence force is equal to its task. "I would challenge anyone to say you are not able to do this, you are not able to do that, you are only able to do this," he said. Post-apartheid challenges The minister was responding to a series of dramatic newspaper articles which cite a briefing given to members of parliament by senior soldiers during a recent visit to a military base. The MPs were apparently told that the army only has four working tanks and that training has ground to a standstill. South Africa has always had one of the strongest armies on the African continent. But since the end of apartheid, the Defence Ministry has had to contend not only with a fall in resources, but has also had to manage a delicate process of racial integration.
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adroth	Jun 6 2005, 06:54 AM Post #5
Member Posts: 1,127 Group: Regulars Member #13 Joined: July 12, 2004	More woes. Still another old article, circa 2003, but newer than the previous article. South Africa's 'army of thieves' Tuesday, 4 March, 2003, 21:54 GMT http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2820233.stm Thousands of criminal and disciplinary incidents were recorded The South African Minister of Defence has said that a total of 947 incidents of theft of state property by soldiers were recorded last year. Mosiuoa Lekota made the disclosure in a written reply to parliament in Cape Town on Tuesday. He said soldiers also stole from private individuals, adding another 406 incidents to their record. The total value of the goods stolen amounted to $1,184. But stealing was not the only crime committed by members of the country's defence force. Hundreds of them have been tried by senior military judges for fraud, assault and intimidation. Quote: Criminal Record 2,299 criminal cases 2,829 disciplinary cases According to the South African Press Association (Sapa), disciplinary cases dealt with ranged from threatening behaviour, insubordination, using insulting language on a superior officer, disobeying lawful commands and absence without leave. This is not the first time the country's national defence force has been found wanting. Financial strain Last year newspaper reports cited a briefing given to MPs by senior soldiers that more than half of the country's soldiers were unfit and that morale was at rock bottom. The reports said the national force was not equal to its task. But Mr Lekota at that time dismissed with contempt the accusations and insisted the soldiers did match up to what was required of them. The newspapers had also reported that up to 60% of South Africa's soldiers may be HIV positive. But the defence minister said new and comprehensive figures at his disposal showed that a maximum of 23% were infected with the virus, and that reports of an army ravaged by Aids were grossly exaggerated. He did admit then that the forces were under financial strain.
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