During last month’s oversight visit to Thaba Tshwane, Parliamentary defence committee members inspected the military “suburb” in Pretoria and found its condition “deplorable,” with one public representative labelling it a stark example of prolonged neglect and mismanagement.
The description is part of a 1 400-plus word statement by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) National Assembly (NA) member Carl Niehaus. He is critical of Department of the Defence (DoD) Works Formation as a military town management (MTM) entity and further takes exception to apparently planned relocations necessitated by unmaintained flats and houses.
Accommodation for military personnel in what some call the Thaba Tshwane “cantonment” is in the form of houses and flats with colleges and other course-offering facilities providing bungalow and dormitory-type living quarters. These include colleges for the SA National Defence Force (SANDF), SA Air Force (SAAF), SA Army, and SA Military Health Service (SAMHS).
Niehaus is scornful saying he and his party express “profound outrage and utter disbelief at the deplorable, life-threatening conditions under which SA National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers and their families are forced to live at the Thaba Tshwane SANDF residential village”.
“The state of the so-called ‘brown blocks’ flats, in particular, stands as a glaring testament to years of neglect, mismanagement and a callous disregard for the wellbeing of those who serve our nation. These accommodations are not merely sub- standard – they are unfit for human habitation and pose an immediate danger to all who reside within them.
“The structural condition of the ‘brown blocks’ is nothing short of catastrophic. Riddled with defects, these buildings are in such a dreadfully dilapidated state that they could literally implode at any moment. Crumbling walls, leaking roofs, overall water damage from cracked and leaking pipes everywhere and compromised foundations are not hypothetical risks, but daily realities for SANDF families.
“This is not an exaggeration; it is a fact borne out of years of ignored maintenance requests and a failure to prioritise the dignity and safety of our soldiers. The EFF condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the systemic apathy that has allowed these residences to deteriorate to the point of becoming death traps. It is unconscionable that those who dedicate their lives to protecting our sovereignty are abandoned to live in such perilous conditions,” the statement reads in part.
There are seemingly plans in place to move people from the potential “death traps” to Pretoria’s Marabastad and Sunnyside suburbs. This is also a no-go for Niehaus who maintains the alternative accommodation is “in a state of disrepair, plagued by poor maintenance and structural issues that mirror the very problems the relocation was meant to address”. Additionally, both suburbs are “notorious for high crime rates, rampant drug abuse and pervasive social decay”.
He wants “a full official enquiry into the chronic mismanagement of the Thaba Tshwane military village” without specifying under whose authority it will take place as well as “a probe” into the planned Marabastad and Sunnyside relocations.
The deterioration of Thaba Tshwane was first noticed at political level by then Defence and Military Veterans Minister Lindiwe Sisulu in 2011. That saw a street clean-up campaign focussing on first line maintenance, general cleaning, and environmental maintenance.
In the wake of the Sisulu initiated clean-up Thaba Tshwane has not improved to anywhere near its former neat and tidy status, which at one time saw residents vie for annual garden and pavement prizes.
The deterioration, including sub-letting of rooms in military houses, illegal shebeens, general rundown appearance as well as infrastructure related theft, reached a point of no return last year for SA Army Chief, Lieutenant General Lawrence Mbatha.
He, according to Captain Desiree Kolokoto, Operation Robust Communication Officer, instructed General Officer Commanding (GOC) SA Army Support Formation, Major General Thituwi Mulaudzi, to implement measures to improve conditions in Thaba Tshwane in January 2024, under the Operation Robust tasking. Putting an end to, among others, drug dealing, undocumented personnel, prostitution, armed robberies, illegal taverns, sub-letting, illegal occupation of military houses and properties were on the Robust to-do list.
Actions included street, building and surrounds clean-ups that saw rubbish taken away, pruning and removal – where deemed necessary – of trees and shrubs. Other actions dealt with unseen offences such as illegal liquor sales and sub-letting of rooms in military accommodation with military police to the fore.
Ensuring the Operation Robust net was spread as widely as possible, the SA Army Specialist Infantry Capability (SAASIC) based in Potchefstroom brought its dogs, horses and motorcycles to Thaba Tshwane. Patrols were conducted removing vagrants, including illegal immigrants; recovering stolen cable; manning stop and search checkpoints as well as foot patrols to root out illegal backyard lodgers. The mounted – both equine and motorcycle – soldiers’ area of operations (AoO) included Thaba Tshwane and Tek Base to the east as well as Laudium and Valhalla.
