Thieves take off with power cables, water pipes

A MILITARY base in Pretoria, which is being threatened with invasion by civilians and pillaging by them, has been forced to generate its own electricity and install water tanks for its day-today needs.

The Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans visited the Special Forces School in Murrayhill on Saturday.

The Special Forces School trains operatives to be combat-ready for deployment anywhere in the country within a short space of time. The visit by the committee included a walkabout in the Urban Training Facility that forms part of a training programme for special forces and new recruits.

During the visit, the school highlighted that some of its challenges included the encroachment of civilians, who built houses and other structures close to the school’s perimeter fences.

The school also highlighted challenges caused by those living close by, who steal electricity cables and destroy water pipes supplying the school.

The school claimed that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure had abandoned its role of repairing damaged infrastructure.

“There must be a clear decision from the command council in terms of the lands surrounding the bases,” said the acting chairperson of the committee, Thabo Mmutle.

The committee recommended that the school should consider installing boreholes as a source of water.

The committee further said that the electricity challenges can be addressed if the school also looked into investing in solar power to ensure its operations were not solely dependent on the national grid.

The committee said the school should write to it and state exactly what support it required.

The committee also visited the headquarters of the Department of Military Veterans (DMV) in Hatfield for a briefing on its facilities and the DMV’s call centre. The lease for Department of Military Veterans headquarters expired at the end of November 2018 and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is attempting to find a suitable building. The DMV said the call centre was operational except for minor issues. The committee said the DMV should provide details of problems it faced so it could make proper recommendations.