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Date : 08/04/2005
Source: Ministry of Defence
Title: Lekota: Defence Dept Budget Vote 2005/2006


Budget Vote by Minister of Defence, Mosiuoa Lekota, MP, National Assembly, Cape Town

Africa is a vast continent, with a huge diversity of religions, languages and cultures – more than found on any other continent. Despite this, the experience of different forms of colonialism built in the aftermath of slavery and the slave trade forged the different nations of Africa into a common drive for independence and self determination. This was concretised through the Organisation of African Unity, later to become the African Union. Top on the agenda for the African leadership today is the recognition that development and subsequent prosperity will only materialise if Africa achieves peace and stability.

The status of the Peace and Security Committee (PSC) of the African Union reflects the importance and commitment placed on peace and stability for the continent to develop and fulfil its potential. Thus the issue of peacekeeping is catapulted to the top of the agenda of each and every African country for it has become part of the drive for independence and sovereignty.

The conflicts in the horn of Africa in the 80s and early 90s, the disintegration of Somalia, the internal tensions in Ethiopia and Eritrea, problems in West Africa in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and finally the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 shocked Africa and the world into recognising the urgency of conflict prevention and conflict resolution. For the countries of our continent the only response is committing ourselves to the eradication of such conflict and ensuring they never happen again.

One of the most important lessons we have learnt from the bloody events in Rwanda, was that the peacekeepers in Rwanda, were inadequate and incapable to stop the genocide. General Henry Anyidoho, Former Deputy Commander of the UN Mission in Rwanda has written:

“Failure started from the onset because of a wrong assessment of the situation and improper synchronisation of troops and equipment to task – especially when signs of danger were looming”

He goes on:

“Of what use were a bunch of soldiers with blue helmets to a community that was badly in need of food, medicine, shelter, clothing, hospitals and schools for their children? The government that was established immediately after the civil war had no resources for the administration of the country. All offices and ministries had been looted. Banks did not exist. The presence of troops under these circumstances gave the population a sense of security, but when they saw no concrete efforts in repairing the ruins of war, the Rwandese began to question the usefulness of the peacekeepers.”

It is clear therefore that peacekeeping entails a great deal more than sending in a few soldiers to staff roadblocks.

I make bold to say that South Africa and other African nations should therefore make ready to step up the content and levels of their contribution to peace support operations. The thrust of NEPAD is that Africa must take responsibility for itself. The countries of Africa, together, through the continental and regional structures, must and will, take the lead in solving their problems.

We understand that conflict arises out of a scarcity of resources but quite often also out of manipulation of situations in our countries by external players whose priority is not the welfare of Africa. Recently there has been doubt cast on the correctness of our decision to acquire new strategic air lift. This criticism fails to take account of the fact that one of the main constraint on Africa resolving conflict and benefiting from its own natural resources is the absence of a developed infrastructure. This myopic approach is blind to the fact that moving across the African continent is still highly problematic and exorbitantly expensive that it is easier to connect via Europe than directly from one African country to another.

But our experience in dealing with disaster management and peacekeeping has highlighted these problems with urgency difficult to ignore. Similarly the obligations of post conflict reconstruction and development such as building roads, railways, towns, schools, hospitals, libraries, banks and stock exchanges, will require the transportation of heavy construction equipment like forklift trucks and cranes. Only if these can be transported from point to point can this continent start to realistically plan its development. A strategic airlift capacity is therefore indispensable in the absence of a functioning infrastructure. Whilst the primary beneficiary of the Airbus Military A400M programme is South Africa, the secondary beneficiary is the continent of Africa as a whole.

This aircraft is essentially a transport aircraft. It is not a war or combat plane. It is not armed to engage in battle. In the immediate and medium term it will transport troops, heavy construction equipment, large amounts of food and grain or pharmaceuticals and medical personnel. Given our national and continental objectives, in the long term it is more available for developmental work than any other purpose. Our participation in the A400M programme will stimulate our technology industry and place our continent among the leaders of the global aerospace industry.

Linked to capacity in peacekeeping is the quality of training of peacekeepers. In this regard it is instructive to recall General Romeo Dallaire’s observation on peacekeeping in Rwanda for he has observed:

“patient negotiations (are) required of peacekeepers …where building a relationship of trust and cooperation with the local population was just as important as setting up roadblocks to check for smuggled weapons”.

When I met with him during his recent visit here, he said the key to successful peacekeeping was to provide multi disciplinary training for our officer corps.

All our efforts should be put into the comprehensive training of our peacekeepers. The training will give our soldiers military skills but must also include conflict resolution, negotiation and humanitarian actions.

International Humanitarian Law and the Law of Armed Conflict has been part of our peacekeeping training for a number of years now. Peacekeepers must understand what it is they are doing, so that the people with whom they come into contact, are treated with respect and dignity. This is an area in which considerable resources will have to be deployed.

At present, we have 1,262 peacekeepers in Burundi, and 1400 in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Military Observers and military liaison officers, who have specific tasks and are part of peacekeeping efforts, are present in Liberia (3), Sudan (257), and Ethiopia/Eritrea (7),

We are resolved to monitor our peacekeeping successes so that we know what we are doing right. Simultaneously, we are monitoring our problems and difficulties.

There are too many challenges for us to discuss on this occasion. They range from the lack of cooking and ablution facilities for men and women, absence of fixed and moveable accommodation, to long lines of logistical support, all of which have made our peacekeeping missions very problematic.

One of the complex difficulties we have encountered is that of working with the armed forces of other countries. Differences in background, culture and language, raise the need to consider the possibilities of peacekeeping training in theatre. Another area that needs to be looked at is the provision of legal services and legal support on the ground. Wherever the SANDF are deployed, legal expertise needs to be provided. This would cover a basic level, right up to a more sophisticated and well versed and learned level. In addition, continued monitoring of the appropriateness of the UN mandate needs to be carried out.

It is with pride that I can inform the House that 7 countries of SADC (including South Africa) have ratified the SADC Mutual Defence Pact. It reflects the commitment of the countries of our region to ensure peace and stability in this region. We will continue to move together, as a collective, in sustaining this peace, in developing our region, and in contributing to peace and stability on the continent. The existence of the SADC Mutual Defence Pact binds us into a SADC community of nations and defines our collective border.

As part of our collective effort, the SADC region is now completing its work on an early warning centre which should be operational in 2006.

With regard to the Africa Standby Force the SADC region commenced staffing a multinational planning team in Gaborone in February which will assist the day-to-day management of the SADC Brigade activities and will monitor readiness.

It is anticipated that by the 30 June 2005 the SADC Brigade will be structured and ready to participate in peace missions as ordered by the AU.

Madam Speaker,

The Department of Defence continues with its programme of internal transformation. Part of this process has entailed a number of changes.

I would like to take this opportunity to announce that since my budget speech last year, General Shoke has become Chief of the South Africa Army, Admiral Mudimu has become Chief of the South African Navy, General Gagiano has become Chief of the South African Air Force, General Binda has become Chief of Joint Support, General Matanzima has become Chief Corporate Services and General Ramlakan has become Chief Director Strategic Plan. We are confident that they understand and embrace our transformation agenda and constitute the best team to take us forward.

I would like to extend my warm and deep thanks to all those officers, General Beukes, Admiral Retief, General Remano and Rev Quiba who have retired in the last year and who served our country with such loyalty.

In 1994, when we embarked on the Defence White Paper and Defence Review, peacekeeping did not feature significantly. Our efforts were concentrated on transforming the defence function from an offensive posture to a defensive one. This required a massive overhaul and transformation of the Department of Defence, with which we are still involved to this day. But there is now a need to prioritise peace missions and give peacekeeping its correct place in the roles and functions of the SANDF.

The President referred, in his State of the Nation Address, to our troops as “midwives of peace, stability and prosperity”. The SANDF is a visible and tangible instrument of our foreign policy, the principles of NEPAD and the African Renaissance.

We have thus embarked on a Review of the Defence Review and White Paper to bring into alignment our new priorities. But a number of challenges have been thrown up in this process which needs to be considered and confronted.

Our force design needs to be of an appropriate size and composition. We are painfully aware of the demands on the national budget.

But if we are to carry out the tasks assigned to us by the Government, we have to fashion a suitable force design. The Force Design suggested in the White Paper and Defence Review was based on the tasks of maintaining our defence capabilities and our support for the police. This now needs to be adjusted.

The SANDF remains structured according to the core force doctrine which will enable us, if necessary, to ratchet up our capabilities to meet conventional threats if and when necessary.

The adjustment of our major training to peacekeeping does not detract from the core force concept. We are not creating an SANDF of peacekeepers. But we are training a professional body of men and women, schooled in the arts of defence, who can use their skills in peacekeeping roles and post conflict reconstruction and development.

Some of our efforts must now focus on the transformation of our training. This review must encompass the syllabi and different methods of training. Attention must also be given to our military training institutions, which need to be properly equipped, maintained and in many cases renovated.

We have been decreasing our involvement in internal security for some years now. As the South African Police Service streamlines and professionalises, they are taking over more and more of the security functions for which they are trained. This is as it should be in a normal democratic society. The armed forces should not be involved in routine police security work. The process of phasing out the Commandos is proceeding according to schedule. And I can assure this house that the SANDF will not withdraw from any area until there is a proper plan and capacity to enable the SAPS to take over that work.

This work also includes making an accurate assessment of the requirements for a Reserve Force. As a result of the work being done on the Defence Review and White Paper, the Reserve Force is now getting clearer direction and can be fashioned into a Force that meets our requirements. We have already started deploying the Reserve Force in our peacekeeping missions. But the rejuvenation of the Reserve Force will be necessary for further deployment. At present the Reserve Force stands at 9,519.

As part of the Strategic Defence Packages, we are acquiring sophisticated and advanced technical expertise. A clear defence technology strategy needs to be created encompassing all facets of the work needed to use, maintain and support this equipment. This strategy will determine the work of Armscor and the rest of the defence and defence related industries.

Both Minister Erwin of Public Enterprises and myself are working jointly to guide the process of rationalising and streamlining Denel and Armscor. Both entities must complete their transformation to be able to meet our defence requirements.

Central to the concept of Defence in a Democracy is civil oversight. Despite difficulties, we must understand that effective civil oversight and the smooth operation between the SANDF and the Defence Secretariat takes time and requires patience, tolerance and constant interaction. We continue to strive to enhance, strengthen and capacitate the Defence Secretariat to enable it to perform its tasks effectively.

I am glad to announce that the Civic Education Board is being reviewed in terms of size and effective functioning. It is an important component of civil oversight and in the proper preparation of members of the SANDF in equipping them for their deployment.

I am saddened though, to place on record the untimely death of Dr Rocky Williams whose departure will impact on this work and who will be sorely missed.

If the Department of Defence delivers all the outputs specified in its strategic business plan, it will, in co-operation with other State Departments, achieve effective defence for a democratic South Africa.

As the Plan says:

“This outcome enhances national, regional, and global security through the existence of defence capabilities that are balanced, modern, affordable and technologically advanced”.

In conclusion, it is our duty to rise to the complex challenges of peacekeeping in Africa. We have to navigate through uncharted waters. The review and re-casting of the White Paper on Defence and the Defence Review will be our compass through these troubled seas, to the calm waters of peace and stability on our continent.

I thank you.

Issued by: Ministry of Defence
8 April 2005

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