Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga this week made it to the headquarters of the fourth SA National Defence Force (SANDF) arm of service – the SA Military Health Service (SAMHS) in Pretoria’s Erasmusrand.
Stop number one on her familiarisation tour was SA Army headquarters on the western side of the Pretoria central business district (CBD) on 26 August. This was followed by interactions at Air Force Base (AFB) Waterkloof with SA Air Force (SAAF) Chief, Lieutenant General Wiseman Mbambo three days later. Stop three was the SA Navy (SAN) headquarters unit, previously SAS Immortelle, in downtown Pretoria in the first week of September, accompanied on all familiarisation tour calls by her deputies, Richard Hlophe and Bantu Holomisa, in the first week of September.
Department of Defence (DoD) communication personnel earlier indicated the familiarisation tour would see the Ministerial trio introduced to the “full spectrum of the entire defence portfolio”. Apart from SANDF headquarters and services this included divisions such as logistics and joint operations, the Department of Military Veterans (DMV), Armscor and SA defence industry (SADI) representatives. A DoD statement indicated Motshekga would “engage with soldiers on the ground” while visiting bases and facilities across the country.
At SAMHS headquarters Surgeon General, Lieutenant General (Dr) Peter Maphaha, gave his civilian superiors some insight on the challenges, successes and status of the non-combat service and its operational functions.
Defence Corporate Communication (DCC) staffer Thando Ramasimong reports Minister Motshekga pledging to work and collaborate with SAMHS “because we understand that you operate and contribute beyond your call of duty”.
