UPDATES ON THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL DEFENSE FORCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAPE TOWN 000055

PRETORIA PASS TO JOHANNESBURG

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM SF MARR MOPS
SUBJECT: UPDATES ON THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL DEFENSE FORCE

Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL ALBERTA MAYBERRY FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) & (d
)


1. (C) On February 19, Poloff met with Dr. Gerard Koornhof an
ANC Member of Parliament serving on the Portfolio Committee
on Defense. Koornhof told Poloff that the current spending
on defense is 1.2 percent of South Africa,s gross domestic
product (GDP),noting that South Africa,s defense spending
is the lowest level in the world. However, he said that the
Portfolio Committee on Defense wants to increase the spending
to 1.7 percent of the country,s GDP within the next four
years, although it could be difficult since there is only one
budget for the whole of South Africa and military spending
must compete against socio-economic concerns. This 0.5
percent raise in defense spending would not include money
needed to modernize the SA Army. Defense equipment and
systems need to be replaced and modernized, said Koornhok.
He added that he has no idea how much this will cost because
it depends on whether the upgrades are done on a short term,
medium term or long term basis.


2. (C) Koornof explained that the mandate of the South
African National Defense Force (SANDF) is delineated in the
South African Constitution, which sets forth the need to have
a strong military. The main thrust of the military said
Koornhof is South Africa,s peace-keeping operations on the
continent. He continued by saying that the SAG needs to
ensure peace and stability in the region so that the problems
other countries are experiencing do not flow down to South
Africa. He believes the SA military is overstretched since
SA currently has 3000 soldiers deployed in foreign peace
keeping operations out of a total of 75,000 personnel in all
branches of the defense force. Koorhof said, the country can
cope with deploying 3000 soldiers, but would not be able to
deploy any more right now. He believes the SANDF needs more
capacity in order to keep up with the demand. He said for
every 3000 soldiers deployed, the SANDF needs another 3000 in
reserve and a second 3000 in training. However, he did say
that the SAG would continue to review all requests for South
African peace keepers.


3. (C) Koorhof also discussed the SANDF,s military skills
development system. Currently, five to ten thousand soldiers
are being recruited for the program and it is oversubscribed.
He also said that many of the current soldiers are between
thirty and forty years old with no rank and that SANDF needs
new, younger soldiers who can fight. The SAG has recently
announced a new training program for these older soldiers to
assist them in finding jobs when they leave the military.


4. (C) "Brain-drain" is also a big problem for the SANDF,
especially for specialist jobs such as pilots, engineers,
mechanics, aviation technicians and navy divers, said
Koornhof. The SAG is considering linking training time to
the recruitment contract so that a soldier will be obligated
to serve in the military for at least the same amount of time
of his training. Furthermore, the Portfolio Committee on
Defense has recommended to the Minister of Defense that SANDF
should offer special incentives in order to recruit people
who already have specialized skills that the military needs.


5. (C) Comment. The SANDF plays a critical role in the
life and policy goals of the SAG, especially as it regards
the foreign policy priority to contribute to African conflict
resolution. Many observers recognize that the SANDF needs
additional resources; but it is unclear if those resources
Qadditional resources; but it is unclear if those resources
will be made available once the new government is elected in
April. Under the ANC-led government headed by former
president Thabo Mbeki, military spending was not increased.
The new leaders of the ANC have not publicly indicated any
interest in increasing the budget of the military. The
question therefore remains: Will a new ANC government led by
ANC President Jacob Zuma (who will likely be the next
President of SA),agree to increase the defense budget to at
least the 1.7 percent recommended by Koornhof? End comment.
MAYBERRY