SANDF exodus of skilled soldiers, sailors, pilots and technical personnel poses threat to SA

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is losing engineers, pilots and other skilled personnel faster than it can train or replace them, raising questions about its ability to continue functioning in certain specialist areas.

The defence department's latest annual report reveals that the SANDF is struggling with vacancy rates of up to 42 percent in some critical fields.

This includes a severe shortage of engineers (42 percent vacancy), air crews (36 percent), air traffic controllers (30 percent) and defence force spooks (30 percent).

Significantly, there is a 30 percent vacancy rate in the joint support function, which is central to the country's already overstretched peace support operations.

There are also notable shortages of nurses (26 percent), anti-aircraft personnel (27 percent) and artillery men and women (18 percent).

DA MP and defence spokesperson Rafeek Shah responded to the news by pointing out that such high vacancy rates would affect the SANDF's ability to "respond to internal and external requirements" and "may compromise our national security".

He appealed to newly appointed defence minister Charles Nqakula - formerly in charge of safety and security - to "show that he means business by telling South Africa what he intends to do to resolve the problem".

But a hemorrhaging military is largely the legacy of former defence minister, Mosiuoa Lekota, who headed the department for almost 10 years from 1999.

With more than 14 000 positions now available in the armed forces, the total vacancy rate stands at 15,3 percent.

This is significantly higher than the upper limit of 12 percent for all government departments as determined by the public service commission.

Generals and admirals have been warning for some time that the SANDF was facing a serious exodus of skilled soldiers, sailors, pilots and technical personnel and that this could pose a threat to the country.

In July, air force chief Lieutenant-General Carlo Gagiano told astonished MPs that the rapid exodus of pilots to Australia prompted him to place a call to his Australian counterpart and appeal for an end to the "poaching".

At the time, the top brass reported that the air force alone lost 218 technicians last year, on top of the 253 who left for greener pastures the year before. The SANDF lost 910 technicians in 2007 - more than 11 percent of its entire technical component.
Irreplaceable experienced pilots have left in droves, including the commanders of the Cheetah Squadron and the Hawk Squadron and the air force's top instructors on the Hawks fighter trainers and the Oryx helicopter.

Most air crews are being poached by private companies in Australia and airlines in the Middle and Far East.

This has caused a juniorisation of technical staff, leaving only a handful of experienced personnel to guide and mentor those who average two or three years experience.

Acting defence secretary Tsepe Motumi warned parliament that the problem was "across the board" in the SANDF and that the organisation was suffering from "poaching on a month-to-month basis", despite setting aside more than R400-million in 2007 to compensate employees with scarce skills.

The report says that Auditor-General (AG) Terence Nombembe gave the SANDF an unqualified audit in 2008.

However, the AG raised a number of "matters of emphasis" relating to the poor management of assets totalling R360-million. He also pointed out problems with contingent liabilities to the tune of R500-million.

The report warns that the cost of the Defence Strategy 2025 - the organisation's long-term planning project - will cost "substantially" more than the projected allocation.

"The strategic risks arising from the potential mismatch between financial resources and strategic requirements have been identified and will be presented to cabinet," the report notes optimistically.