South Africa P.I.G.: SADF

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25 Years After Magoo’s Bar Bombing

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDDYIQTacHfou0pSYeonbQ-_u2DAoyr_eN9Yn4C5MTdMOYDFR0VdMGEG7Qs0KARif6o0AXeCkkdt4Q37Cja7PdXGKsJ0kPhYi5MTgk3ILqshkFmlxukvdUtAEBY2LPbCFSjou2oUbfcau/s1600/bar-bomb-magoos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDDYIQTacHfou0pSYeonbQ-_u2DAoyr_eN9Yn4C5MTdMOYDFR0VdMGEG7Qs0KARif6o0AXeCkkdt4Q37Cja7PdXGKsJ0kPhYi5MTgk3ILqshkFmlxukvdUtAEBY2LPbCFSjou2oUbfcau/s640/bar-bomb-magoos.jpg" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div>On this day 25 years ago in the ANC and Robert McBride’s bomb attack on civilians at Magoo’s Bar on Durban's Marine Parade, three young white women were killed and many bar patrons were wounded when former MK (Umkhonto we Sizwe - the former armed wing of the ANC) operative Robert McBride planted a powerful car bomb outside Magoo's on June 14, 1986 Apart from the three women ‒ Angelique Pattenden, Julie van der Linde and Marchelle Gerand ‒ who died in the bombing, 73 people were wounded in the explosion outside the popular Durban beachfront Magoo's Bar. In June 1986, McBride taped together more than 100 pounds of explosives, attaching a mine with a 15-minute timer as his trigger, and swaddling this propulsive charge with bags of machine-gun bullets and metal scraps for shrapnel. He secreted his lethal contraption in the spare-wheel well of a powder-blue Ford Cortina, which he parked one Saturday night on a crowded beachfront esplanade in Durban. The bomber was out of earshot when his device exploded into two busy white bars. Magoos bar and the nearby "Why Not" bar were targeted because they were believed to be frequented by apartheid security force personnel, who were regarded as legitimate targets in the ANC's armed struggle against the former government. Few, if any, of the victims were members of the security forces. That was not the first time the ANC had used car bombs and it was not the last time. McBride and a companion were convicted of the bombing, and McBride was sentenced to execution three times for his part in the attack. A pardon negotiated by Nelson Mandela saved McBride from death row. In 1999 McBride was released and granted amnesty for the Magoo’s Bar terror attack by the TRC due largely to the fact that the ANC claimed it had ordered McBride to attack the pubs, contrary to its initial denials that it was involved in the bombing. McBride, one of the most famous saboteurs in the furtive military underground of the ANC, then became a diplomat in the new SA government, then was recalled for sexual indiscretions (he sexually abused white female staffers at the Malaysian embassy where he worked). His reward was to be appointed as Police Commissioner for the second largest Urban Metropolitan police force in South Africa... a position from which he was suspended for four years due to a drunk driving charge. Yet another fine example of a black history maker.... The Constitutional Court recently ruled that 'Bomber' McBride may be called a murderer because of the cold-blooded multiple murders which he committed although he had received amnesty for the incident. But he still stands by the bombing, saying that if he was in the same situation, he would do it again. So, on this sad anniversary, our thoughts are with the next of kin of those victims who died and the 73 innocent victims who were injured in the deadly blast that night 25 years ago. The total number of people killed or injured in the 30 years of MK's campaigns is not known exactly. MK launched its first guerrilla attacks against government installations on 16 December 1961 and was subsequently classified as a terrorist organization by the South African government and the United States, and banned. Ten leaders of the ANC were tried for 221 acts of sabotage in the Rivonia Trial. Details are not available, but it is estimated that the MK High Command co-ordinated over 190 acts of sabotage between October 1961 and July 1963. A study by Tom Lodge of the University of the Witwatersrand estimated that there were 150 MK attacks between 1976 - 1982. SEE <a href="http://www.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv02424/04lv02730/05lv02918/06lv02949.htm">HERE FOR List Of MK Operations</a>

25 Years After Magoo’s Bar Bombing

On this day 25 years ago in the ANC and Robert McBride’s bomb attack on civilians at Magoo’s Bar on Durban's Marine Parade, three young ...

11:48 AM

Die for Zuma? We’ll be lucky if the SANDF rocks up for duty

It is a well-recognised fact that a volunteer army, like the United States, should be far more effective than a conscript one simply because the former is made up of career professionals capable of learning about sophisticated weaponry and tactics through years of service while the latter consists primarily of school leavers and other youngsters dedicated to counting the days they have left before they leave the service. In the case of South Africa we are the exception that proves the rule. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376260800064794306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW79dTf9naeCweq4djT0qwFHSCYQEw3yURly8IXn-zZbdhXhE2wFpvjxgu69mvtiFHgMijnQXeQzKkCx6CW8c7APXu2GNqXwWQd_gu8p3PwO5Rysygj5HkzksUzfARMQjLWXMQB64kwm0/s400/WW2_pics.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />Gone are the days when Africa and the planet viewed the SADF as a lean, mean military machine capable of thrashing all-comers who dared to darken our doorstep and in its place stands an SANDF steeped in the debacle that was Lesotho, submarines on bricks, dodgy arms deals and even plots to kidnap senior officers. A fucking joke if you pardon my use of the military term. Yet all of this pales into significance when regard is had to the strike currently being conducted by the Sandu and our brilliant soldiers. When I was in the army in 1982/3 I was treated to the unfortunate hell that is the life of a military man. Strict discipline, less rights than a prisoner on death row and conditions befitting a Tibetan monk rather than a boy from the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. Yet they were designed to break you down and then build you back up harder, leaner, fitter and ready to kill. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376260470834829538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnprRq-ERzUN8hgFbagk0PWa5Zyu1m9Jx1cyoH8cYN-XyhH8A3EqCEXof1tDvxnJDxbdeKiFuAgPMFcEKchmcPf7680xDETLOySbp3IxCP79r-0yBh-qh66pykjUgBUOag0GaJBwPUQDE/s400/RSA_pics.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />No longer, this lot seem to be fatter, unfit, ill-disciplined and ready to kill only for more pay, better conditions and any number of other grievances too endless to mention here. Anything but carrying the uniform and the flag with pride. The result is our borders are open to invasion or unlimited refugees who pour into our townships which occasions xenophobia, disease and crime while this lot are busy planning strikes and — judging by the kidnap plot — anything from a mutiny to a full-blown coup. The Democratic Alliance has been asking for reports on the SANDF levels of readiness with limited response. The air force seems to be short of pilots leaving them, at best, open to attack from just about any country with a couple of Cessnas. The navy appears slightly more optimistic while the army is as described above. This from a volunteer army which is supposed to represent the regional power. In the interest of the government and the people of South Africa, following a week of strikes, kidnap reports and soldiers fighting police, the minister of defence must call for an urgent and transparent cross-the-board probe into the military and the arms deal. Recently we saw a senior navy officer who refused to vow allegiance to the president and Cosatu saying the government is being too harsh in its response to these protesting soldiers. This instead of expecting total obedience to commander-in-chief and country. The time to stamp on this conduct hard has arrived. Any soldier who strikes must be booted out of the service as well as those who don’t deserve to wear the uniform for whatsoever reason. If they don’t like the military there are millions of unemployed who can take their place. Man for man the British soldier is the best on the planet. I suggest our senior officers and NCOs be sent across to learn about discipline, loyalty and pride in the service from them. That way we may land up with a service that we can be proud of and the government will have a tool that can be employed where necessary. Right now I wouldn’t want to rely on our lot to withstand an attack from Lesotho never mind, God forbid, Bob’s mob.

Die for Zuma? We’ll be lucky if the SANDF rocks up for duty

It is a well-recognised fact that a volunteer army, like the United States, should be far more effective than a conscript one simply because...

2:39 PM

ANC Rewriting History to suit the Politics...

A strange occurrence is taking place in South Africa – history is being rewritten to give credit to those who don’t deserve it and discredit those who built the country to what it was before 1994. Whereas I was aware of the situation, I never realised how far this re-writing of history had gone until I read General Jannie Geldenhuys’ comment in the Afrikaans paper Rapport. (For those who read Afrikaans, see <a href="http://www.news24.com/Rapport/InDiepte/0,,752-2462_2447926,00.html">http://www.news24.com/Rapport/InDiepte/0,,752-2462_2447926,00.html</a>). Geldenhuys served as the Chief of the South African Defence Force from 1985 to 1990. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289367349218638194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmWyS30UKOeQm6pjyb1hmeyolItPHlYnxHcxDNc9vStWh26AT4mgEVZhaHZJ6jOhUCqrjVgCKz5p-4HKRY2KQJQBSIvcHaJb1tD6hwgY6vcz_x6lGTM0OGizr45gE7CuDWOX6gzN-_4E/s400/special-forces-1h.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> Whatever faults the outside world ascribed to the old SADF, it was a proud, disciplined fighting machine that carried out its mission with pride and honour. Composed of Permanent Force (regulars) and National Service (conscripts) members (PF and NSM respectively), it never shirked from its mission, no matter how unpleasant or controversial. It was the NSM who made up the bulk of this once-proud defence force. As a young officer who commanded national servicemen at one time, I look back on those young men with immense pride. They never gave me any reason to doubt their loyalty to their army, their mission or their comrades. When they left after their 2-year service, they are the ones that built the dams, motorways, bridges, hospitals, schools and so on – vital infrastructure that has since been left to be eroded away due to neglect and lack of maintenance.<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289367353103078194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWC_vV340S9m7Ue8VpJ_Q7v7twCt5ekWCDJQ2xRR6BAgr8ax2NeTxQbCL8ruSxshyphenhyphen6g5_XvzK9_3epp4KF_z6AfdgiGjYePF-un6BiY3lvAvf5RGFwKvMxQWB0ww9v_C8sE6B_hIsZv8U/s400/special-forces-2l.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> Of course, criticism can be levelled at some of the officers and NCO’s who once served, but they too did the best they could do under the difficult circumstances they found themselves in. In general, the leadership was true leadership. Young officers and NCOs (18 and 19year-olds) took their sections, platoons and companies to war and they never lost a battle or ran away. Instead, it was the politicians who ran and hid when they were required to stand up. Whereas the military strategy was sound and attainable, the SADF was betrayed by a wishy-washy grand strategy – a grand strategy that appears to have only made provision for the National Party politicians, the Broederbond and their fellow-travellers and, of course, their bail-out plans. Even then, they could show no honour – or shame.<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289367344315254514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2dHvvurb_1qcJ9Edo6iy-jCvHFX9EpJ5LB7iYCIzIqpxRARxA2vT21u4GtDx0qOlgnEmsHApeLNZfxU4u_rsmpeDW9-jW6qjnJq8xzqCbnjIjXR4Ee8oRziEgJ8o1HDgVGURPa9WJpS4/s400/special_forces.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> Whether fighting a counter-insurgency war, a semi-conventional war, a guerrilla war or urban warfare, the SADF stood its ground and consistently attained its mission. There were casualties, something any commander regrets deeply, but in real terms, the casualties were kept to the minimum. Indeed, during planning, a guideline we always received was to keep casualties to the minimum. Over a 23-year period of combat, the SADF suffered 613 members killed in action. Cuba suffered more than 2 300 killed in action over a 12-year period. Angolan, SWAPO and ANC casualties have never been made known. Yet, the ANC now wishes to claim that it defeated the SADF … but, perhaps they may have a point: they certainly destroyed it when they came to power.<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289367643411849810" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAlja4_NKmWEwCh735rQwBi2pirYbRG9EQ1UWxNZHnWwf77qz8DRSS7DzJXMEvEYr0mqnB0Hywxwbwzzk7jPaI5daGqTftuR7R-Gf-YSDc9v4PuW38Tuj2Z0LDLJqZNgRmawkjjmMjC0/s400/specila-forces-4l.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> Elite units, with the exception of Special Forces, comprised both PF and NSM. Many national servicemen extended their two-year compulsory conscription period and joined the Permanent Force. They became officers and NCOs of exceptional quality. The PF and NSM officers and NCOs led their men in units such as the parachute units, armour, mechanised infantry, artillery, engineers, signallers and so forth. After their national service, they became members of the Citizen Force – territorials – and often spent 3-months a year serving in the SADF. Entry into the South African Special Forces was more than difficult. By 1988, more than 100 000 soldiers – both PF and NSM - had applied for Special Forces selection and training. Fewer than 480 qualified as operators. During operations beyond South Africa’s borders, more than 80 of these operators were killed in action. Indeed, Special Forces was the most highly decorated military unit in South Africa since the end of World War 2. (<a href="http://www.recce.co.za/">www.recce.co.za</a>)<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289367358695604370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-SQcHwW5xl9BOygWPO7cCRPi5eGKzbg522V_fnUJ2JSsUORQQQzMICr02W3L1N-p5QUN3cRmfYljVZnGcNUudWA8m4026RZH_2FL85SQuQMBllvZV_wxbXS7k9Biex5CF1v3jwuqjuQ0/s400/special-forces-recces.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> When South Africa became “democratic”, the SADF was sold out by the politicians – mainly from the Broederbond – who governed the country. Serving soldiers started losing their jobs under President de Klerk’s appeasement policy. Those that didn’t lose their jobs then soon lost them under a new government. This military expertise South Africa once had has become lost. Many of these men are now serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. We now have a new army – the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). This is a defence force that was unable to contain a small problem in Lesotho in September 1998. They have tarnished South Africa’s reputation with their despicable behaviour as “UN peacekeepers”. They have a trade union and can strike when they want to. Equipment has fallen into disrepair. Discipline is a rumour. The once world-class armaments industry (ARMSCOR) has been mismanaged into tatters. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289367362864938562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieHAntttnjC71x9TD2qgcdwOXTB-PAaBZim35IFIRGF8orQq3o-czpCyCXHAPWg4afI0ookGBGO1Sg-qGc6Q1x8Z6geBpL-Vx3MwZ-LXigRRXGe7imLy0xbYM5T30V3XvffsxEgcJ2BA/s400/special-forces-sa.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> Yet, history now needs to be re-written so that it would appear that the men of the new SANDF defeated the “old” SADF in battle. A new history needs to explain how they fought the SADF to a standstill, how they triumphed when the Russians, Cubans, Angolans and other failed. The time has come for these “fighters” who now man the SANDF to list their victories. That might make for some very interesting but quick reading. Maybe the next thing we will learn in “history” is that the ANC placed the first man on the moon…

ANC Rewriting History to suit the Politics...

A strange occurrence is taking place in South Africa – history is being rewritten to give credit to those who don’t deserve it and discredit...

12:05 PM

Terror left the army in tatters

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvLTq3HoR3X6odBVyGpz7L2umGMYF8PDdEdyEWcvHIlS_lsMiMA2Jp5IIuTEJ2EhpmfwkP6-G47UqMLxW4qSk5Ek0Pm-OGDZsfhTskchQzbOleGh_CpfKjIMXaYzY-Bv5rXk9LPnN9Tsg/s1600-h/lekota-lynx.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261555067064280770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvLTq3HoR3X6odBVyGpz7L2umGMYF8PDdEdyEWcvHIlS_lsMiMA2Jp5IIuTEJ2EhpmfwkP6-G47UqMLxW4qSk5Ek0Pm-OGDZsfhTskchQzbOleGh_CpfKjIMXaYzY-Bv5rXk9LPnN9Tsg/s400/lekota-lynx.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>You have no doubt been following the exciting travails of Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick "Monsieur Terror" Lekota, the former minister of defence and apparently joint leader of the Shikota group of ANC splinteratchiks. "Shikota" is a neologism obtained by conjoining and compressing (what a thought) the surname of Mbhazima "Sam the Sham" Shilowa - the former premier of Gauteng and devotee of the Zion Christian Church (but no wine farm, mind you; no wine farm and no cigars) - and that of Lekota. Has the end of the world come? we ask ourselves. Has one cubicle, in the broad church that has been the ANC for so long, imploded? Will coffee ever taste the same? Can Lekota cure my dandruff? Will the price of pipe tobacco decline? Will archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu ever get over his "pain" - try some aspirin, arch - and find it in his heart to vote again? Will Nelson R Mandela vomit on his ANC badge? Actually, I am very relieved that the end of the world never came, and that there was not even a small attempt at Armageddon - because what I find most remarkable is that this 60-year-old tubby fellow, who bears a striking resemblance to Jabba the Hutt, of Star Wars (the movie) fame, has had his podgy finger on the trigger of our national arsenal (such as it is) for almost 10 years. And we make fun of the Americans! I concede that it's probable that none of our stuff works - that our submarines are in dry dock, that we have no pilots for our Gripens, that Schabir Shaik probably stuck a spanner in the combat suites of the corvettes, that most of our armoured cars are deployed in townships to save the bacon of Shikota fellow-travellers, that the HIV infection rate of our army is probably about 67 percent, and that we have, in any case, sold the sea just outside Simonstown - but still. Mr Mbeki, what were you thinking, sir? How could you have left this incoherent big-mouth in charge of our army? What would have happened if there had been a serious, armed insurrection by the boere in Randburg? What would have happened if we had been forced to drop brave members of 1 Para on Harare? Do their parachutes still work? This Lekota fellow is remarkable. Outraged at having effectively had his bum removed from the butter and his nose from the trough - what a mixed metaphor; soon I'm going to be offered a job as a political analyst - he has stumped around the country saying plenty of nothing in the most self-righteous and outraged tones. He has told us that the head honchos of the ANC are not democrats; that they have trampled on everyone's rights (especially his); he has launched into endless diatribes about T-shirts and whose picture should be on them (Geez, if I have to hear another one of these bozos arguing about T-shirts, I am going to platz); and he has rabbited on about the Freedom Charter ad nauseam. On Saturday, I saw a clip of Lekota speaking at a mass meeting of about 23 people in some select suburb - no way was he going to venture back to a place like Orange Farm. Orange Farm is not for fat boys who have been living high on the hog in Pretoria. He asked his select audience audaciously: "Why doesn't Jacob Zuma tell us the truth about the arms deal?" Monsieur Mosiuoa - you have been the defence minister for nine- and-a-bit years, my china, why don't you tell us about the arms deal? Don't be shy; if you need to know anything, I can put you in touch with Patricia de Lille, of the Independent Democrats, who has made the arms deal her meal ticket. She's what you call a one-trick, as opposed to a one-prick, pony. Talking of which, why doesn't Shikota form a coalition with the ID? And why don't Terror and the Big Dudes give some thought to attracting some serious "names" to their party?

Terror left the army in tatters

You have no doubt been following the exciting travails of Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick "Monsieur Terror" Lekota, the former minister of ...

12:42 PM

Thousands of suspended officials facing criminal charges costing South Africa millions

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCSxaN8cYauXRaiSPJoleWdUjysls1gJFlof4phbhOOaz1D7tbi23nXr_fOXJ0y51eB7HkdWyhA2K-OH3AxlPa1ASJv017wdlYZ3r1c1y0l5qRQMY2Pv-HUPxmXtYoKSS8XHaZcZ2C1o/s1600-h/corruption_who_cares_cover2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240303955944707986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCSxaN8cYauXRaiSPJoleWdUjysls1gJFlof4phbhOOaz1D7tbi23nXr_fOXJ0y51eB7HkdWyhA2K-OH3AxlPa1ASJv017wdlYZ3r1c1y0l5qRQMY2Pv-HUPxmXtYoKSS8XHaZcZ2C1o/s400/corruption_who_cares_cover2.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Suspended civil servants are costing the fiscus millions of rands each month - and some have been sitting at home on full-pay for more than a year. Others have been placed on special leave because they are facing criminal charges or because there are internal inquiries taking place. These public servants come from all tiers of government: from office cleaners to law enforcement officials to executives of parastatals. Yet, the exact number is unknown. Professor Stan Sangweni, chairperson of the Public Service Commission, said the commission did not keep statistics on how many civil servants fell into this category. The Department of Public Service and Administration, too, could not provide a figure for national departments, never mind provincial counterparts and municipalities. With no accurate statistics available, the price tag for the taxpayer is unknown - rather like a blank cheque. But, one thing is for sure, the sum is considerable. Senior officials, who command annual salaries ranging in the region of R1-million, are among those suspended. Top law enforcement officials drawing salaries while they remain outside the office include National Prosecuting Authority head Vusi Pikoli, who was suspended last year and now awaits the decision of the Ginwala inquiry, and Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi, who will be on paid leave for some time because he has had his contract renewed - even though he is facing corruption charges. Ekurhuleni police chief Robert McBride has been on special leave with full pay for more than a year while on trial on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, defeating the ends of justice and fraud. In Cape Town, his counterpart, Bongani Jonas, has been suspended on full pay while the City of Cape Town conducts an internal investigation. Jonas is facing a charge of illegally changing his driver's licence. Meanwhile, corruption-prone government departments are footing the bill for thousands of suspended officials. The Department of Correctional Services suspended more than 500 officials during 2007/08, at a total cost of R15-million - and some cases took more than a year to resolve. The Department of Home Affairs suspended more than 100 officials in the first half of the year. Last year, Home Affairs suspended 189 officials in a six-month period. A third of these officials were dismissed The department has in the past struggled to conclude such cases, with some dragging on for years in certain provinces. Meanwhile, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula has revealed that over the past three years his department spent R90-million on paying the salaries of suspended cops for a total of 12 723 working days. Some suspensions dragged on for more than a year, such as that of a senior superintendent in visible policing who was suspended for 638 days. A police inspector in Cleveland, Johannesburg, was suspended for 788 days on full pay. In the Western metropole of Cape Town, 29 senior police officers were suspended while five inspectors were suspended for 233 days in Kwazulu-Natal. The situation is no better in the military. Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota recently revealed that some defence employees had been suspended for almost six years and that suspensions over the past three years cost R10,9-million. Lekota said 42 South African National Defence Force members were currently suspended on full pay and that the average length of time for such suspensions was more than two years. A senior Land Affairs official sat at home drawing his full salary for more than three years. Parastatals suffer similar problems. At Armscor, a top official has been drawing a salary of over R1-million while the organisation sorts out her conflict with the CEO, who she says harassed her. Earlier this month, the media reported that in the impoverished Eastern Cape the provincial education department spent more than R5-million on the salaries and legal costs of senior staff who had been suspended for 18 months. They included a director who was suspended for booking former MEC Johnny Makhato on an economy flight instead of on a business-class international flight. Ghost employees are also still drawing salaries - including in the city of Cape Town. An employee of the solid waste department was admitted to Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital two years ago, but stayed on the payroll because nobody noticed he had not been at work.

Thousands of suspended officials facing criminal charges costing South Africa millions

Suspended civil servants are costing the fiscus millions of rands each month - and some have been sitting at home on full-pay for more than ...

2:30 AM

South Africa P.I.G.

25 Years After Magoo’s Bar Bombing

Die for Zuma? We’ll be lucky if the SANDF rocks up for duty

ANC Rewriting History to suit the Politics...

Terror left the army in tatters

Thousands of suspended officials facing criminal charges costing South Africa millions

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