Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa has pledged that from this week, senior military leadership will brief Defence Minister Angie Motshekga on fixing challenges in the Department of Defence after media reports of generals living in luxury homes while defence facilities deteriorate.
Rapport on the weekend reported that although the South African National Defence Force’s (SANDF’s) top dozen generals enormous salaries of nearly R2 million per year, they do not pay for water and electricity because taxpayers pick up that tab – apparently some of the generals’ water and electricity bills amount to more than R20 000 per month.
The decision for the SANDF to pay top generals’ municipal bills was made in September 2018 by the Military Command Council and approved by former Secretary for Defence Dr Sam Gulube.
The publication went on to state that the SANDF pays huge amounts of money to refurbish generals’ properties, which are guarded by soldiers. Renovation and maintenance work is often handled by the army’s own maintenance personnel, although the houses are rented through the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI).
When load shedding was still in effect, each general had a military generator at his home, and one house had a water tanker parked outside after experiencing water supply issues.
The generals’ royal treatment is increasingly viewed with resentment by soldiers, especially since South Africa’s forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo are currently suffering from a lack of equipment, proper accommodation and medical facilities, Rapport continued.
The South African National Defence Union’s (Sandu’s) Pikkie Greeff said, “Soldiers are growing more disillusioned because the generals don’t care about the troops at ground level.”
Sandu threatened to get a court order last month to restore the electricity at 4 SA Infantry Battalion in Middelburg, where the offices and residences had been without power for nearly two weeks. The electricity supply was subsequently fixed over the weekend.
“There are army houses where the geysers don’t work. The army’s attitude is that the soldiers can fix them themselves. We’re compiling a list of similar defects and then we’re going to fight the case in court, based on the provisions of the occupational health legislation. Soldiers just want to do their jobs in acceptable conditions,” said Greeff.
Holomisa, responding to the allegations, said the Acting Secretary for Defence Dr Thobekile Gamede, Chief of the SANDF General Rudzani Maphwanya, and commanders of defence formations “will brief the Minister on how to fix defence challenges, as reported in the media. Speed will be of essence.”
