Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga stands accused of “trying to spin herself out of accountability” in the wake of Tuesday’s joint briefing to two of Parliament’s defence oversight committees on South Africa’s soldier deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The accusation, by Democratic Alliance (DA) defence and military veterans spokesman Chris Hattingh, came in response to a post-briefing statement with Phiroane Phala, Co-chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD), seeking information on operational issues of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) deployment in the DRC.
A Parliamentary Communication Services statement has Phala endorsing a call by both committees – the JSCD and Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCDMV) – for a closed meeting. This will “enable the SANDF to elaborate and give more details on the operational issues that could not be traversed in an open meeting to protect the security of those deployed”.
Additionally, the proposed closed meeting will include information on capabilities deployed and “the need for any replenishment of those capabilities”, as well as defence intelligence needed and provided for, and the current status of the mission and way forward for SAMIDRC (Southern African Development Community Mission in DRC).
Elaborating on Motshekga’s spin doctoring abilities, Hattingh said the joint briefing was “a crucial moment” for government to be held accountable for “the ongoing crisis in DRC where our troops are once again caught in the crossfire of a foreign conflict”.
In the briefing, DA Parliamentarians wanted the source of advice for the SANDF to be deployed and information on oversight measures that were and are in place to ensure the safety and readiness of South African soldiers.
Another point of contention for which answers are sought relates to counter intelligence. The Hattingh statement maintains the precise co-ordination of M23 (Mouvement du 23 Mars) mortar fire indicated meticulous planning begging an answer to the effectiveness – if any – of counter intelligence operations.
“Instead of providing the answers South Africans deserve, the Minister and President continue to stonewall and delay accountability. This lack of transparency has only fuelled the growing fears of the public and the families of our soldiers,” the statement has Hattingh saying.
He wants Motshekga out, saying she, along with SANDF Commander-in-Chief President Cyril Ramaphosa, are not capable of providing the leadership “our troops need and deserve”. “She has completely failed to account to this committee, remaining evasive, grandstanding and arrogantly dismissing the concerns of MPs and the public alike.”
The Parliamentary Communication Services statement, while “imploring” the SANDF to repatriate the bodies of the soldiers killed in and around Goma, went into some detail as regards SANDF under-funding and support.
“Capacitation of our deployed members is sacrosanct,” PCDMV chair Dakota Legoete is quoted as saying in the statement. The committees reiterate the importance of adequate provision of air, logistic and defence intelligence support to ensure successful missions and “that these will be central to future parliamentary oversight”.
With Dar es Salaam set down as the venue for Saturday’s East African Community (EAC)/SADC summit on the eastern DRC situation, the pair of South African parliamentary committees tasked with defence oversight acknowledged efforts by SADC and the East Africa regional bloc to find “workable solutions to the longstanding impasse”.
“The African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 strategic framework provides a blueprint on how Africa can silence the guns and adopt diplomacy as a tool to end conflicts across the continent. The reality is that it is only through dialogue that the DRC matter can be amicably resolved and the military can only create space for a political solution,” Malusi Gigaba, JSCD Co-chair says in the statement. in line with this, the committees welcomed the current ceasefire and called for diplomatic interventions.
Meanwhile, South African troops remained trapped by M23 fighters in Sake and Goma, with no clear indication of how they will be brought out.
Chief of the SA National Defence Force, General Rudzani Maphwanya, told Parliament on Tuesday that the bodies of the 14 fallen South African soldiers would be returned home on Wednesday, but it’s not clear how this would occur.
