Zim’s lesson for South Africa

YESTERDAY the plight of the country’s soldiers was raised in Parliament. Morale is low because of salary issues, poor accommodation, lack of quality uniforms, expired rations and discrimination within the SANDF.

The country should be taking notice, given events in neighbouring Zimbabwe where the military has carried out a “soft coup” against aged despot Robert Mugabe. It is likely he will be ousted as president within the next few days.

The main reason Mugabe is history is because he wanted Grace, his unpopular wife, to succeed him so he fired vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is close to the generals. But also the country’s economy is broken and soldiers are paid irregularly. They want the economy mended and their interests served.

On home turf the Defence Force Service Commission gave parliamentarians a strong message. The government had to show it cared before the soldiers “rolled out their tanks”.

Presenting a report to Parliament’s joint committee on defence on recommendations made to Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, the commission’s chairperson, Professor Lorraine van Hart, said: “We must be careful not to create an environment that is not conducive. Things can happen overnight so we have to show our soldiers we care.”

The issues raised came after visits to bases in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Gauteng as well as external missions to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

There was a severe lack of patrol vehicles and motorbikes to use for border patrols, and soldiers had to stay in dilapidated, torn and wornout tents. Sometimes rations are late or expired. MPs were horrified. This is no way to treat the country’s soldiers.

There is much wrong with the SANDF. It is overstaffed with generals and there are too few young, fit, trained recruits. Equipment is not well maintained. Discipline is a problem.

Politicians make unrealistic demands on the troops. They serve in several African countries and there are plans to use them to fight gangsters in the Western Cape. Apparently, some in the government want to cut the military budget to help fund free tertiary education.

This is lunacy. Soldiers go beyond the call of duty, but they need fair treatment and good equipment.