Reply:

Question a.

a. DOD personnel did engage with COMAIR with respect to the requirements listed in paragraph.

(b.) No senior officials were involved in this regard.

b (i.) The DOD (SA Air Force) awarded two (2) contracts to "COMAIR LTD" (V32C9) during the specific period in question for the following requirements.

• 2012: for the training of four (4) members on Flight Dispatchers Course to the value of R134 976,00.

• 2014: for CSIR skills training for SA Air Force members to the value of R28 500,00.

Reply:

Question 1.

a.(i) According to the Department of Defence's records, the Department has not concluded any audit contract with Deloitte to the value of R800 million. However, Deloitte was contracted to perform a Through Life Capability Management (TLCM) study over four years at a cost of R230 million. This requirement is a resultant of phase 1 of the TLCM Project conducted during 2013/14 in the Chief of Logistics environment. The results of TLCM phase 1 reflected that the DOD is not on par

with international standards in terms of TLCM best practice. The DOD/Armscor Acquisition, Technology Development processes and the objectives of the RESTRICTED 2 National Defence Industry Council (NDIC) were not part of the C Log study, a requirement therefore existed to align the above mentioned aspects with both international TLCM standards as well as the Defence Review 2015.

Question 2.

The TLCM project is a high priority exercise since it will ultimately contribute to a cost effective SANDF and is not at the cost of other current priorities

Reply:

NO

Reply:

1-2    NO

Reply:

The information required relates to the strength of the SA Navy and SAAF, and impacts on matters of National Security and can only be divulged in a closed session of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.

Reply:

(a) (i) The Department of Defence has spent in the 2015-16 FY R 266,794.

(b) (ii) The Department of Defence has budgeted R 533.317 for the 2016-17 FY.

Reply:

NO

Reply:

1. 13 fighter aircraft are in the Rotational Preventative Maintenance program due to lack of funding.

1a. 13 Gripen fighter jets are in a Rotational Preventative Maintenance program from a fleet of 26 aircraft which are maintained throughout the aircraft life cycle as prescribed by the Designing Authority.

1b i. The Gripen fleet are under continuous maintenance while in Rotational Preventative Maintenance program.

1b ii. 13 Gripen fighter aircraft are operationally active at their home bases.

1bb. The Gripen aircraft are operationally utilised and used for force preparation of Gripen specific pilots and also for force employment.

2. Technically, we do not have any pilots training in Russia or Cuba. What we have in these countries are members identified to become student pilots.

Reply:

No I have not attended any meetings of the Gupta’s in Saxonwod.

I have attended events organised by the Hindu community to mark their Diwali, a Hindu festival, wherein members of the Gupta family attend as part of the members of the Hindu society.

These invitations have always been extended to Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and the Business community long before I even assumed the responsibility of being the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans.

Reply:

The information required relates to the movement of the VVIP, and for security reasons, the response to this question can only be presented to a closed session of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.

Reply:

(a) (i) See the attached specifications.

(ii) There is a budget allocated for the 2016/17 financial year.

(iii)The initial date was end of May 2016 but the tender adjudication process is underway and can alter the delivery date.

(b) It has recently been determined that the Aircraft will be leased for a period of 12 Months.

SPECIFICATIONS ATTACHED UNDER SEPARATE COVER

Reply:

The information required relates to the movement of the President and for security reasons, the response to this question can only be presented to closed session of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.

Reply:

Soldiers of the SANDF are not deployed in in the KZN game parks per se but are responsible for border safeguarding operations. Amongst other, along the KZN-Mozambican borders therefore there is no financial implications related to the above mentioned question, only OP CORONA budget is spent for border safeguarding.

Reply:

(a) Burglary cases reported

   (i) Military Police Service Stations – Three cases of burglary were reported.

(aa) 2012-13: One case of burglary at haba Tshwane Military Police Area Office (MPAO) and one burglary at Daquar MPAO.

(bb) 2013-14: No burglary was reported.

(cc) 2014- 15: One case of burglary at Bloemfontein MPAO

(b) Nature of stolen goods is TV, two edge cutters.

TV (Thaba Tshwane) R6,000.00

2x edge cutters (Daquar) R5,000.00

Forced entry (Bloemfontein – nothing stolen)

There were no cases reported to the South African Police Service

Reply:

1. Vetting has been completed. Judges will be appointed before the end of May 2016.
2. The Military Discipline Bill has recently received pre-certification from the State Law Advisers and this marks the way for the introduction of the Bill into Parliament. The Bill once passed will go a long way towards strengthening the military justice system.

Reply:

I file a declaration of interests every year with Parliament and the public part of this declaration can be viewed in Parliament

Reply:

The Board of Inquiry 12/15 conducted by SA Army Support Base Bloemfontein was completed on 13 October 2015.

FINDINGS OF THE BOARD

Circumstances that caused the loss of 2x weapons (R4’s) and equipment (radio, 2x magazines, 2x weapon belts, 2x lanyards and 60 rounds)

The guards were on official duty when the incident occurred but they were asleep on guard duty. The loss of the weapons and equipment can be contributed to negligence, a lack of discipline and neglect to obey orders and instructions. Security fence, cameras and security lights around the warehouse were not up to standard. The guards did not adhere to the orders of the Adjutant. The guard commander did not post the two guards (Private’s Sam and Mdayi) on 232400B Aug 15 but they were posted by the driver. The training of Protection Services Guards were not up to standard.

Who was responsible for the loss?

02047744 MC Private S. Sam and 08415176 MC Private L.B. Mdayi.

The consequences that it may have for the SANDF

The upgrading of security measures. The development of a specific training program for Protection Services members. The loss of weapons and equipment of R18,483.20.

(2) No suspects have been identified thus far.

(3) No

Reply:

In this context, stolen refers to premature phasing-out of systems type aircraft by donating to the museums or selling thus limiting the SAAF to build capacity.

Reply:

1. (a) Based on the records maintained by this Department, Mr. MA Lenaghan is not a registered military veteran.

(b) The national military veterans’ database is a listing of military veterans who have applied for listing, by completing the prescribed application forms and complied with the prescripts of the Military Veterans Act (Act no. 18 of 2011). Mr Lenaghan has not done so.

Reply:

(1) The SANDF is not in a position to comment on the poaching statistics in the game parks. These questions should be directed to SANPARKS.

(2) This question should be directed to SANPARKS.

(3) Soldiers of the SANDF are not deployed in the KZN game parks per se but are responsible for border safeguarding operations, amongst other, along the KZN-Mozambican border. It is for this reason that soldiers are not deployed in so-called protection zones either. Questions pertaining to the protection zones should be directed to SANPARKS.

Reply:

(1) The SANDF’s primary mandate is to safeguard the integrity of our international borders. The SANDF conducting operational tasks such as listening posts, observation posts, foot and mobile patrols, reaction forces conducted in conjunction with SANPARKS and the SAPS, specifically for the Kruger National Park. Technology and air support are being utilised as a force multiplier to achieve successes. The SANDF is not the lead department in the Kruger National Park. The SAPS and SANPARKS are the lead Government Departments and the SANDF is in support.

(2) No formal investigation was conducted. An Informal discussion between the SANDF, Chief of Joint Operations (C J Ops) and SANPARKS have taken place in January 2016, with specific reference to refining of the cooperation at the Joint Operational Centre (JOC) level in the Kruger National Park for effective and maximum deployments.

(3) It must be categorically stated that there are no form of collusion between the soldiers and poachers. During the conclusion of the recent informal discussions the following aspects were highlighted;

(a) More soldiers were required due to the vastness of the area to effectively minimise the infiltration into the Kruger National Park.

(b) Closer and effective cooperation between the various role players must be achieved and remains the objective.

Reply:

(1) Soldiers of the SANDF are not deployed in the KZN game parks per se but are responsible for border safeguarding operations, amongst other, along the KZN-Mozambican border. They do not fall under any other command but that of the SANDF. The rangers, on the other hand, are under command of SANPARKS.

(2) The rangers do not fall under command of the SANDF. Details with respect to their armaments should be obtained from SANPARKS.

Reply:

1. (a) An effort was made to encourage white candidates to apply through media reports encouraging them to apply and by extending application dates to get a broader pool of candidates.

(b) 405 MSDS applications were received

(c) 99 white candidates were appointed and are undergoing Basic Military Training at the different training institutions

2. Yes, there is a Revised Implementation Instruction on the Military Skills Development System (DS/CDHRPP/DSS/R/104/31/2/1 dated 05 December 2003 ) in place which spells minimum level of education of new recruits and the Services have in addition own specific requirements which are reflected on their application forms.

(a) The SA Army did not use specific criteria to appoint white candidates. The SA Navy selected applicants that had Mathematics and Science with the minimum level of 3 and above for both subjects.

(b) The SAMHS appointed 18 white candidates with A aggregate and 15 with B-aggregate whereas 33 white candidates with A-aggregate could not be utilised as they were awaiting their Grade 12 results. The SA Army does not have specific criteria in appointing white candidates. Out of the 235 that the SA Army invited for the selection board process 124 reported and 111 did not. 49 white candidates did not meet the criteria in the SA Army. The SA Navy selected white candidates with level 3 and above in both Maths and Science on their National Senior Certificates.

Reply:

The total number Reserves that were called-up up in the SA National Defence Force during the financial years 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 is indicated in the table below:

CALL-UP CATEGORIES (Months)	NUMBER OF MEMBERS CALLED-UP (Individuals utilised)
	FY 2012/2013-2014/2015
0-6	4 217
6-12	3 283
12-18	3 570
18-24	2 847
24-30	1 460
30-36	1 628
TOTAL	005

1. Over the three year period, a total of 17 005 individuals were utilised as Reserves for SANDF activities as per the number per category.
2. It must be appreciated that in each of these categories the numbers were not necessarily utilised continuously for that period.
3. The number of individuals utilised continuously for the full 36 month cycle were minimal and that was restricted to members that were in critical specialised posts.

Reply:

(a)

• Steering Committee
  • Mr S. Majombozi
  • Ms S. Rabkin
  • Mr S. Sokhela
  • Mr S. Hamilton
  • Lt Gen (Ret) J. Nkonyane

• Resource Panel (part time)
  • Ms S. Hlapolosa
  • Mr T. Kubu
  • Mr U.Abrahamse
  • Brig Gen (Ret) M.R. Fihla
  • Ms N. Motlhatlhane"
  • Ms N. Mkwanazi
  • Maj Gen (Ret) K. Mokoape
  • Mr D. Nadison
  • Dr S. Zikalala

(b) The turn-around strategy is to focus on the following areas: procurement; organisational structure of the Department; financial accounting and the legislative mandate in addition it has various work streams which deal with rolling out of benefits to military veterans.

e.g. 1)health and education,; 2, Policy development; 3 Cleaning up of the database.

(ii) The task team has been established from 01 September 2015 to 31 December 2016.

(c) The Steering Committee is paid on the basis of meetings bases on National Treasury determination which is amended annually.

 

Reply:

(a) (i) In each of the nine provinces, a Provincial Coordinator and Assistant have been appointed and they are placed in provinces. The challenge for the Department of Military Veterans (DMV) is the reliance on the Department of Public Works (DPW) for the procurement of office space. Since 2013 the DMV has been engaging with the DPW on office space.

In the interim, the DMV has submitted requests to various entities for the provision of office space. At present, the provincial coordinators are housed in various venues.

• Eastern Cape: The Provincial Offices are currenlty housed at the East London City Hall
• Free State: Temporarily housed in the DoD sick bay at Tempe Military Base in Bloemfontein
• Gauteng: Temporarily housed at the DMV head office in Pretoria
• KwaZulu-Natal: The Provincial Coordinators are housed in a very small office at the sickbay in Pietermaritzburg
• Mpumalanga: Temporarily housed in an DoD military sick bay in Nelspruit
• Limpopo: Temporarily housed at the military base in Polokwane
• Northern Cape: Housed at the military base in Kimberley
• North West: Provincial Offices are temporarily in the old Premier’s Offices,  Mafikeng
• Western Cape: Office of the Director-General (10 floor, Parliament Towers, Plein Street, Cape Town)

The DPW has reported that office space has been now sourced and secured in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and North West Provinces. The DMV national Office will visit the spaces during April 2016 to assess compliance with the DMV specifications and to determine occupancy date. Once this has been established, the DMV will commence with providing additional human resources and required office resources at these offices. The DMV shall do the same in other provinces as space becomes available.

(b) The underspend on provincial offices in the 2014-15 financial year was a result of the lack of adequate capacity in provincial offices.

Reply:

(1)

 (a) Programme 1: Out of 14 targets planned, 10 targets were achieved and these constituted to 71% achievement. The department is at the moment fast tracking the recruitment process to ensure that all vacant funded posts are filled and the appointment the TSI to fast track and develop a turnaround strategy to ensure achievement of targets is still ongoing.

(b) Programme 2: Out of five targets planned, 2 targets were achieved which constituted to 40% achievement. The dependency of the department on other sister department to dispense benefits to Military Veterans (MVs) also creates a threat to achieve the targets as planned (like housing, education etc.).

(c) Programme 3: Out of six targets planned, 3 targets were achieved which constituted to 50% achievement. The department is in the process of serious engagements with identified Stakeholders to address this impasse of dispensing the benefits to the relevant bona fide MVs.

(2) As indicated previously, I have appointed a turn around team to assist the Department in setting in place systems to enable it to meet its service delivery targets. I am also in the process of filling vacancies in certain key positions within the Department. The DG and all DDG positions will be filled shortly and a new CFO recently assumed office.

Reply:

1. The following percentage of the total procurement of (a) the Minister for Defence and Military Veterans department and (b) every entity reporting to her went to (i) SMME’s and (ii) co-operatives from 1 April 2015 to 26 February 2016 was 50.7%.

Reply:

It is hereby confirmed that no funding was provided nor was any payment made for the amount of RM800 to Deloitte.

Reply:

The Department established a Task Team comprising relevant units of the department, the Airforce and Armscor to advise on the most viable and suitable acquisition option including cost implications thereof for this project.

The Task Team already issued public communication on the progress in this regard during a press briefing in November 2015.

Reply:

The MOU is a broad based document and is not limited to the Elands Bay area. A key output of the MOU is for the provision of work and other economic opportunities for military veterans through DAFF.

The Cedarberg Fishing Infrastructure Development and Management Project (CFIDMP) is a separate project of DAFF and does not include the DMV. The DMV is aware that the service provider to the DAFF on the CFIDMP has been used to facilitate payment of the stipends for the military veterans on the anti-poaching project in the Hermanus area.

(b)

(i) A list of names is provided (REFER TO APPENDIX A)

(ii) The name list shows the former forces to which the project participants belonged. Two members have passed on since the beginning of the project and another has resigned from the project. Three members are dependants of military veterans

(c) The project in question predated the establishment of the DMV. Subsequent to the establishment of the DMV, the office of the Deputy Director-General: Empowerment and Stakeholder Management was called in to a meeting on the project to discuss challenges in employment the military veterans. Since the initial intervention, the Acting DDG:ESM was instrumental in assisting in developing a Memorandum of Understanding between the DMV and DAFF. The office of the Provincial Coordinator in the Western Cape has also been represented at meetings through the Assistant Provincial Coordinator.

Therefore, to date, the DMV has been represented by the Acting DDG and the Assistant Provincial Coordinator.

During the engagements with the process, it came to light that the military veterans on the project were requesting to be employed in the DAFF. At one point there were around 8 positions available within DAFF with the entire group requesting absorption onto DAFF staff. The various DDGs who have managed the project have repeatedly indiacted that the project is an EPWP initiative and as such, has a defined timeframe. However, the group was advised to establish a co-operative which could be considered as a possible service provider to provide the very services in anti-poaching that they currently provide to DAFF.

(1) The team did establish a co-operative and the DMV also submitted a letter of support for this business entity. The process was submitted to DAFF to consider taking on the group as a preferred service provider. As part of service offering, the DMV enlisted the assistance of the Chief Operating Officer of SANMVA to assist in training the group and incubating them since she had been part of the initial meetings with the group when the DMV became involved in the project in June 2013. The intervention did not yield much fruit.

The recently appointed DDG (DAFF) had also initiated a committee that would map out a strategy which would have guided the transition process that would have resulted in the co-operative taking on the programme as a fully fledged service provider. A meeting with this committee has been scheduled for 08 April 2016 in Cape Town to discuss the extension of the project to other coastal provinces.

The current project phase has been extended to 31July 2016.

(2)

1. The group in the project come from various areas around the Cape Peninsula area including Hermanus, Langa and Bonteheuwel amongst others. DAFF has been providing transport for the team to get to work daily. None of the project members are from Elands Bay.

1. A request for database verification has been submitted to the DMV military veterans database unit.

1. It is noted that some of the group might not be bona fide military veterans. This matter has been constantly raised with the group. Therefore, the intention of the establishment of a cooperative was also to facilitate that whilst the military veterans would be catered for through the DMV support, those who are not military veterans could be retained as employees to the cooperative, to avoid depriving families of an income. This was noted because of the fact that the project had been initiated before the advent of the DMV and had been running for a while before the DMV was approached for assistance.

(3) The current employment has been extended to 31 July 2016 after discussions on the matter.

APPENDIX A (QUESTION 502)

NAMELIST FOR HERMANUS ANTI POACHING EMPLOYEES

MKMVA PROJECT PARTICIPANTS

No.	SURNAME	NAME	ID NUMBER	BIRTH DATE	ETHNIC GROUP	GENDER	CELL NO	FORCE NO
1	Daweti	Siyabulela (Deceased)	7101255524084	25/01/1971	Black	Male	0780050504	95071981PV
2	De Vos	John Paul	6906115791081	11/06/1969	Coloured	Male	0795523000	0746329/9
3	Fihlani	Makhaya Douglas	7111015321084	01/11/1971	Black	Male	0785375087	10871887
4	Genu	Siviwe Abner	6501295647086	29/01/1965	Black	Male	0736528408	94975844PE
5	Gobo	Lulamile Frederick	6506185664083	18/06/1965	Black	Male	0734039336
6	Lonzi	Simphiwe	6708315496085	31/08/1967	Black	Male	0715109160	94096674PF
7	Mamani	Vuyani Moses (Now with PRASA)	6803046225083	04/03/1968	Black	Male	0799822296	94672359
8	Mdlungu	Makhaselina	6504220711084	22/04/1965	Black	Female	0780294371	94075173P
9	Mvulana	Zongamele (Now with PRASA)	6806035817083	03/06/1968	Black	Male	0788888020	94069739
10	November Mettler	Venessa	6904240171089	24/04/1969	Coloured	Female	0846221903	96072368
11	Snyman	Bonakele Michael	6911185733088	18/11/1969	Black	Male	0730082342	97652309
	Sanqela	Patrick	6903076208080	07/03/1969	Black	Male	0736220313	98151822RFN
	Martin	Amanda Beatrice	7303210288081	21/03/1973	Coloured	Female	0782217812
	May	Ellen	7507040081082	04/07/1975	Coloured	Female	0796679223
	Mfengwana	Dumisa August	5910165806089	16/10/1959	Black	Male	0736541174
	Mkoko	Wankie Lesley	7610105632086	10/10/1976	Black	Male	0768899180
	Mtimkulu	Simphiwe	7311035610086	03/11/1973	Black	Male	0835836924
	Ndzabela	Lizo	7305245507088	24/05/1973	Black	Male	0733772601
	Ngcime	Simon	6612166092086	16/12/1966	Black	Male	0833330887
	Nokatywa	Nomonde	6311080300085	08/11/1963	Black	Female	0789389391
	Snyman	Bonakele Micheal	6911185733088	18/11/1969	Black	Male	0730082342
	Stofile	Howard	6509125388086	12/09/1965	Black	Male	0783866117
	Xaga	Jamangile	6603255773082	25/03/1966	Black	Male	0731239688
	Yola-Xundu	Nomalungisa	6405160675083	16/05/1964	Black	Female	0825364850
	Arendse	Christine Cheryl	6506120771084	12/06/1965	Coloured	Female	0846270153	No F NO
	Cader	Feroza	6907240081083	24/07/1969	Coloured	Female	0730256698
	Deniels	Joan	7207260191089	26/07/1972	Coloured	Female	0837285117
	Dayimani	Simon Mayibuye (MKMVA - Dependant)	8609076476086	07/09/1986	Black	Male	0732747611
	Dunga	Joy	6811201111089	20/11/1968	Black	Female	0824245710
	Fihlani	Makhaya Douglas	7111015321084	01/11/1971	Black	Male	0785375087	10871887
	Flotman	Simon	6501225304089	22/01/1965	Black	Male	0735785912
	Fransch	Donovan	7306125163083	12/06/1973	Coloured	Male	0736673403
	Jonkers	Lilian	6912160574083	16/12/1969	Coloured	Female	0832662647
	Kapa	Thabisa	7511260535082	26/11/1975	Black	Female	0837422401
	Le Roux	David	7212025856083	02/12/1972	Coloured	Male	0745271093
	Minnie	Mathews	6101245626080	24/01/1961	Black	Male	0833647122
	Maphuza	Michael Nkululeko (MKMVA -Dependant)	8102285414083	28/02/1981	Black	Male	0797658003

APLA MEMBERS

No.	SURNAME	NAME	ID NUMBER	BIRTH DATE	ETHNIC GROUP	GENDER	CELL NO	FORCE NO
1	Maduba	Siphiwo	6406235728089	23/06/1964	Black	Male	0732441041
2	Magwentshu	Nqaba (Dependant)	8008195620088	19/08/1980	Black	Male	0783617548
3	Ngqisha	Lindilekile (Has exited)	7011165955089	16/11/1966	Black	Male	0735823214
4	Ntlabathi	Desmond	7005055603080	05/05/1970	Black	Male	0793993723
5	Ntsila	Ndoda	7312085350082	08/12/1973	Black	Male	0781353000
6	Qashani	Witness	7011115412082	11/11/1970	Black	Male	0732794308
7	Sidina	Mzoxolo Arthur (Deceased)	7104175549081	17/04/1971	Black	Male	0731288548
	Smouse	Simon	6402095634087	09/02/1964	Black	Male	0785459964
	Williams	Mzwamadoda	7503305412088	30/03/1975	Black	Male	0736242200	96845599
	Madasi	Vuyisile	6911205896089	20/11/1969	Black	Male	0780782742	98001092

Reply:

The SANDF has been deployed in the DRC since 2001 and it would need more time to provide feedback on PQ541 for this period to date. In the light hereof the response will be narrowed down to the FY2015/2016.

Question 1(a). 90 members have been charged for transgressions over this period.

Question 1(b). 08 members were found guilty at an Officers Commanding Disciplinary Hearing over this period.

Question 1(c). In each of the 08 cases the maximum fine of R600.00 were handed down.

Question 2(a). 46 members out of the remaining 82 members were administratively discharged in terms of the Defence Act, Act 42 of 2002. None of the remaining 36 members could be tried by a court of (senior) military judge due to the non- assignment of military judges.

Question 2(b)(i). The dismissed members have approached the High Court for reinstatement.

Question 2(b)(ii). 32 out of the 46 members that were administratively discharged have lodged an application to the High Court challenging their discharge.

Question 3. The matter was removed from the court roll due to incorrect serving and placement thereof.

Question 4. Fair procedure was followed by the Department.

 

Reply:

(a) and (b) NO

Reply:

At this stage nothing has changed, the integration process under the Termination of Integration Intake Act 2001 terminated on 31 March 2002.

Reply:

1.  The three submarines are currently operational.

2. Not applicable

3. NO

Reply:

1. (a) Seventeen incidents of theft occurred at the Quarter Master at Saldanha Military Base between 2011 and 2016

(b) Items stolen comprise mainly clothing, IT equipment and fire extinguishers.

(c) Items stolen were valued at approximately R100 555.58

(d) Between 2011 and 2013 six civilians were apprehended and found guilty in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s court. Fourteen police investigations are not yet concluded.

2. No

Reply:

1. (a) Four incidents of Cable theft occurred in the Silvermine area between 2012 and 2013.

(b) General items comprising mainly copper, were stolen

(c) Items stolen were valued at approximately R50 000-00.

(d) In March 2013 four suspects were apprehended by SANPARKS personnel icw the copper theft at the upper antenna farm at Silvermine and handed to the Muizenberg SAPS. They were later released by the SAPS when it was discovered that were all minors.

2. (a) At no stage was communications from land and sea cut off due to these incidents.

(b) Fences have been repaired in the upper antenna area and are in the process of being replaced in the lower antenna area. A camera monitoring and speaker warning system has been installed in the upper antenna area. Vehicle patrols have been stepped up. The SAN is attempting to acquire a wide area Intruder Detection System to increase monitoring and reduce response times in order to prevent future incidents of this nature.

(3) No

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.

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.

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.

Reply:

1. At this stage there is no intention to launch an investigation.

2. (a) The Services are in control of the Reserves and call-ups are managed according to specific requirements over a specified period of time and for a particular number of people or particular rank requirements as determined by the Services and some Divisions within the structures of the Department of Defence. Such call-ups are largely controlled by the availability of financial resources.

(b) Rotation of Reserve Force members is encouraged at all times and the departmental policies do make provision for such in order to give members a fair opportunity to receive a call-up. This requirement is not always met accordingly due to budgetary constraints.

(c) The period of call-ups is determined according to the purpose and type of call-up, whether it is on a continuous or non- continuous basis and for the duration. The duration for external deployments is normally over 12 months and internal deployments over 6 months. In both cases, a period for pre- deployment training is also scheduled. Specialist skills are utilised according to departmental needs.

3. Reserve Force service is a voluntary service and the department always strives for the principles of fairness as a rule regarding Reserve Force utilisation. However, the current economic situation and the high unemployment rate place pressure on the unemployed Reserve Force member to become desperate for a call-up and would therefore always be regarded as not being treated fairly with no call-up. The Services do have a monitoring system in place to review Reserve Force utilisation on a quarterly basis.

4. According to policy requirements, Reserve Force members that are active in service are not allowed to be part of the Military Veterans and are not entitled to such benefits. The current practice is that members who would like to be registered on the Military Veterans Database in order to be entitled to the benefits thereof would officially request to resign from active Reserve Force service or be removed from the Reserve Force database.

Reply:

The total number Reserves that were called-up up at the Joint Tactical Headquarters and Ops Corona in Mpumalanga during the financial years 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 is indicated in the table below:

CALL-UP CATEGORIES (Months)	NUMBER OF MEMBERS CALLED-UP (Individuals utilised)
	FY 2012/2013-2014/2015
0-6	2 601
6-12	1 712
12-18	417
18-24	89
24-30	8
30-36	0
TOTAL	4 827

Reply:

Programme classification	Goods and services	Payment for capital assets	Reasons for underspending on goods and services	Reasons for underspending on capital assets
Administration	94.3%	38.7%	The underspending was mainly because of billing not received from the Department of Public Works for infrastructure and property management	The department budgeted for furniture for the new employees but because of limited space capacity the process of purchasing the furniture was withheld.
Socio Economic Support	16.0%	29.3%	Dependency on other departments to roll out benefits	The department budgeted for furniture for the new employees but because of limited space capacity the process of purchasing the furniture was withheld.
Empowerment and Stakeholder Management	78.9%	100%	Dependency on other departments to roll out benefits	The programme spent its budget accordingly
TOTAL	51.8%	43.2%

Reply:

The Department of Defence did not spend on any advertisement in the New Age newspaper during the above mentioned period.

SUBMITTED ON: 15 MARCH 2016

Reply:

a. Ref Par 1 (a): The intention of the SANDF is not to have contracts for servicing of military vehicles and equipment.

b. Ref Par 1 (b): First and second line maintenance and repair tasks including limited depot repairs will be performed by internal capability.

c. Ref Par 1 (c): Through Project Thusano, internal capability and capacity the SANDF will do the internal work.

d. Ref Par 1 (d): It will save cost, military vehicles and equipment will be maintained and repaired as a far less cost as it will be done internally.

It is important that the SANDF becomes self-sustainable. We are not ruling out possibilities of working with the private sector on some of our projects. However, the SANDF must develop internal capacity to deal with such matters.

Reply:

The following are the members of the Advisory Council Members and their capacity:

Mr T. Magingxa (Chairperson)

Members

Dr P.P Dyantyi

Mr A. Apleni

Mr K. Bokala

Col (ret) P.M Kubu

Brig Gen (Ret) M. Fihla

Mr O. Mabena

Ms D. Phama

Mr M. Vena

Ms N. Khwezi

Dr S. Zikalala

Mr Mika Xayiya

Dr T. Ndlovu-Molokwane

Ms Vuyiswa Lieta

Dr A. Mahapa

Reply:

The following are the members of the Appeals Board Members and their capacity:

Mr M Msimang (Chairperson)

Mr F Hartzenburg (Member)

Adv C.O Morolo (Member)

Ms N.E Mkhwanazi (Member)

Adv M.A Tshivhase (Member)

Reply:

Annual report 2014-15

The Minister appointed a Turnaround Support Initiative (TSI) team during September 2015 for a renewable period of six (6) months to address audit findings identified in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 Auditor General South Africa reports and to assisting with implementation and/or operationalisation of the projects and programmes to complement the long term service delivery capacity challenges of the Department.

The TSI is characterized of a steering committee led by Convener Mr S Majombozi through a programme management office and the deputy programme manager, Mr T Nemahagala, and a resource panel.

Reply:

There are no frozen posts at the moment all posts are active and funded.

SUBMITTED ON: 15 MARCH 2016

Reply:

Armscor’s Strategy departs from the premises as indicated below and contains objectives as indicated.

1. The SANDF is Armscor’s client and as such Armscor must firstly focus on the SANDF’s requirements as defined and scheduled by them.
2. Armscor is, however, also sensitive to the greater socio-economic issues that come into play with defence expenditure. In this regard Armscor had studies conducted to assess the socio-economic impact of different types of acquisition programs related to the requirements of the Defence Review.  The insights from these studies are used to advise the SANDF, to try and position the local defence industry for optimal socio-economic impact in the RSA or to define the required characteristics of agreements with international suppliers where necessary, for example to protect the balance of payments and to transfer skills to the RSA.  
3. Armscor is also in consultation with the Departments of Science and Technology and Trade and Industry to optimize possible defence expenditure with their departmental initiatives.
4. Armscor is not the representative body for the local defence industry (AMD), but it is cooperating with the body to define and implement initiatives to strengthen the local defence industry.
5. In addition to existing support to marketing events such as the upcoming Africa Aerospace Defence (an international and continental) event, Armscor reacts to opportunities as they show themselves within the relevant oversight policies. The approach is not only reactive but also proactive as Armscor Research and Development is involved in forums that are aimed at optimizing the continent’s military output through improved logistic support and interoperability. Armscor Research and Development is also providing insights to the focusing of technology development to ensure an ability to react to opportunities.

SUBMITTED ON: 15 MARCH 2016