Kebby dials down the controversy
DEPUTY Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Kebby Maphatsoe vowed t hat he would not be controversial at his graduation ceremony.
“I am going to stick to my speech because I am a graduate here today,” he said, much to the delight of the crowd and only moments before he received his certificate in Defence and Security Management at the Wits School of Gover nance in Joburg yesterday.
Just last week, Maphatsoe had to issue an apology to for mer Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils, and agreed to pay R500 000 in damages for having made public statements alleging that Kasrils had orchestrated the rape charges against President Jacob Zuma.
The Wits ceremony was dedicated to about 60 postgraduate students, including about 30 senior members of the South African National Defence Force.
The deputy minister ex- pressed his gratitude at being able to speak at his own graduation: “It’s a humbling experience to stand before this audience…
“We come from different programmes at different levels, with the same objective – to accumulate knowledge and better ourselves, and to enable each one of us as individuals and as a collective to excel in our quest to serve the people,” he said.
He chose to speak about the importance of education, its role in the military and the role of a military in a democratic country.
He also stressed the importance of investigating the reality of the country’s need for security.
“While there is a need for the military, there are also notions that the military is a waste of public funds in a democracy.
“We need to continuously engage with those debates in an infor med manner that will assist to give a balanced perspective of what for m and nature our defence should take.”