The officer in overall charge of the spiritual and moral needs of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF), Brigadier General (Father) Ernest Masewu, is the new chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Inter-State Security and Defence Council (ISDC).
The South African chaplain general acceded to ISDC chairmanship in The Seychelles where a regional bloc five-day spiritual and moral service work group conference ends today (Friday, 26 July).
The conference, attended by chaplains general from six of the 16 SADC member countries, was aptly themed “the role of the chaplain in the military”. In addition to representatives from the SANDF Chaplain Services Division, other delegations were from Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Namibia and Zambia.
Among the topics tabled for discussion was improving chaplains’ ministries in the SADC region by developing education and training programme to assist in ministering to soldiers and others in uniform. Other agenda items included promoting religious tolerance, strengthening relationships and the importance of centres of excellence.
In the South African military structure the Chaplains Service represents a cross-section of the religious communities in the SANDF and provides spiritual leadership to South African servicemen and women in and outside the country. This, the Service has it, allows for building of human capacity to enhance spiritual, ethical and human wholeness. This takes place in the context of religious diversity with cognisance of Department of Defence (DoD) transformation imperatives and in support of democratic peacebuilding in Africa.
Masewu has been SANDF Chaplain General since May 2022.
