Question NW750 to the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
15 April 2016 - NW750
Mncwango, Mr MA to ask the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
(1)With reference to the soldiers who are deployed in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park and the Kruger National Park, who (a) has taken over the chain of command from a certain person (name and details furnished) in the Kruger National Park and (b) leads the military exercises in KwaZulu-Natal; (2) are the soldiers and rangers who are employed by the Government well-equipped to withstand a poacher’s bullet; (3) does the Government pay for life insurance for the specified soldiers and rangers who endanger their lives daily and who have families to care for; (4) (a) do the specified soldiers and rangers work from 8 am to 5 pm daily and (b) do they engage in any night patrols?
Reply:
The questions raised here have potential to compromise the operational integrity of the SANDF with regard to force deployment; force movement and tactical planning.
It is however suffice to say that the SANDF deploys in the National Campaign against Rhino poaching in support of other government departments as part of its constitutional mandate.