Defence Force Service Commission on progress, action plan + challenges submitted to Minister

Meeting report

Defence Force Service Commission: Progress report

Professor Edna van Harte, Chairperson: Defence Force Service Commission (DFSC), briefed the Committee on the progress made by the DFSC, its action plans, and challenges it had ecountered.

She reported the Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans (MOD&MV) approved the implementation of the recommendation on the delinking of rank from salary in 2017. The successful hosting of the Civil Military Conference over the period 27 to 28 October 2016 on Bridging the gap; advancing Civil Military Relations to Deepen Democracy, initiated dialogue between the Department of Defence/ South African National Defence Force (DOD/SANDF) and civil society.

The meeting between the DFSC and the Reserve Force Council to discuss the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) took place on 6 September 2017.  The aim of this MOU was to establish a partnership on matters concerning the conditions of service and benefits for Reserve Force members, with the understanding that the SANDF was based on a “one force” concept. The DFSC signed a MOU with the Military Ombud on 5 July 2017, with the aim of establishing a cooperative framework in order to share information and to enhance the effectiveness of both these two DOD organs of state on matters of common interest impacting on the conditions of service of SANDF members.

The DFSC had rolled out its awareness strategy so that it was recognised and acknowledged by the defence community such as ARMSCOR, defence-related industries, businesses, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and tertiary institutions. It had established a communication programme to promote and institutionalise the Commission within the broader DOD community. The Commission also initiated the process for the amendment the Defence Act, Act 22 of 2002, to review the powers of the Commission, the structure and appointment level of both the Commissioners and members of the Secretariat.

The DFSC conducted consultative visits to the South African troops deployed under UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). It interacted with 590 SANDF soldiers out of a personnel strength of 799 during November 2016. Patterns of concern included matters such as promotions, transfers, security on bases, poor facilities, and access to health facilities. Subsequent to the visit to the DRC, the Commission submitted inputs for consideration to be included in the MOU between the DOD and the United Nations to the SANDF.

The DFSC and the Reserve Force Council had a meeting to discuss the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that took place on 6 September 2017. The aim of this MOU was to establish a partnership on matters concerning the conditions of service and benefits for Reserve Force members, with the understanding that the SANDF was based on a “one force” concept.

The DFSC signed a MOU with the Military Ombud on 5 July 2017 with the aim of establishing a cooperative framework in order to share information and to enhance the effectiveness of both these two DOD organs of state on matters of common interest impacting on the conditions of service of SANDF members.

Since September 2016, an additional 53 submissions had been handed over to the DFSC, and the total to date was 82 submissions received.  84 SANDF members had visited the offices of the DFSC in Pretoria and 55 had visited the DFSC Wingfield office. Although the impact was not tangible, the psychological effect of these visits had resulted in hope, trust and belief which were expressed numerous times by SANDF members. 

Prof Van Harte reported the Commission had monitored progress of the DOD Works Formation in the refurbishment and upgrading of DOD facilities in order to address challenges relating to accommodation. The DOD Works Formation was completing the construction of two buildings in Lords Ground, KZN, which would serve as an accommodation facility and office building.

The DFSC brought to the attention of the Committee some of the observations made during its consultative visits to Operation Corona bases as follows:

• The severe lack of serviceable patrol vehicles and motorbikes that were compatible to the terrain around the borders.
• Members were deployed in areas that were not mission ready.
• Members were accommodated in dilapidated, torn and worn out tents that were not suitable for the extreme weather conditions.
• Members were not provided with rations on time, and sometimes were provided with rations that had expired.
• The poor quality and quantity of uniforms provided to deployed members.
• Inadequate, or lack of, supply/provision of signal and communication equipments.
• Lack of adequate military medical transport in the mission areas.

Regarding challenges, she cited, amongst others, the following:

• Inability to appoint staff independently.
• The theft of 20 computers and other information technology (IT) equipment valued at R310 000 over a period of 12 months.
• Cost containment measures by National Treasury had resulted in budget cuts that impacted adversely on the DFSC
• Protracted procurement processes impeded the effective spending of the allocated budget by the DFSC.
• The inability of the DFSC to obtain meaningful progress reports regarding the implementation of recommendations tabled by the Interim National Defence Force Service Commission

She further presented an update on the recommendations made to the Minister. Concerning the recommendations tabled on policies in respect of conditions of service, the recommendations were tabled in March 2016 to the MOD&MV on the eradication of asbestos. The uniforms and military skills development system were endorsed by the executive authority and then forwarded to the Secretary of Defence and the Commander of SANDF for implementation.

The recommendation on pay and service benefits tabled in March 2017 to the MOD&MV on delinking rank from salary had been accepted by the MOD&MV and was in the process of implementation by the DOD’s human resources (HR) division for the rank groups of private to major. The DFSC was awaiting feedback on the progress of the recommendation that the SANDF should develop a pay progression for the Reserve Force members which would allow the members to progress to the next notch after 12 months of cumulative service in a rank.

The recommendation on awarding death benefits to the beneficiaries of the members/employees who passed away while deployed on internal or external operations for which no international compensation was paid had been published in the Government Gazette 660 of 22 August 2014, and was being implemented. The recommendation submitted by the DFSC on cost of living allowances (COLA) for the financial years of 2015/16 and 2016/17 was not implemented due to the three-year agreement entered into between the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Chamber (PSCBC) and the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) for the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) financial year 2014/15 to 2016/17 regarding the salary increment.

Prof Van Harte said that their action plans were based on three strategic objectives: making annual recommendations to the Minister on improvements of salaries and service benefits of SANDF members; making recommendations to the Minister on policies in respect of conditions of service of SANDF members; and ensuring efficient and effective management of all DFSC resources. The action plans were centred on the following areas:

Developing an operational strategy and plan to ensure proper governance.

• Evaluating the performance of the DFSC.
• Developing proper communications and management systems.
• Conducting consultations with internal and external stakeholders.
• Researching current DoD policies, instructions and doctrine.
• Investigating the pay philosophy of the SANDF.
• Determining what the pay structures were incentivising, especially with regard to the balance between operational (war fighting) and support personnel

Discussion

Mr S Esau (DA) said it was not acceptable for soldiers to live under inhumane conditions. The situation needed to be improved. The nature of complaints that came from the soldiers should be given an ear. It was not enough to say there was no budget. Recommendations from a report that had previously been presented to the Committee should be implemented. When recommendations were made to the Minister, there was a research capacity that had to follow up. Solutions outside the box were needed to solve the problem.

He said the exit mechanisms in the Defence Force regarding the reservists were not working. If the reservists were allowed to leave, that meant there was no way of rejuvenating the Force. Age was very important in the army, so it was important to absorb the reservists into the system. He added it was not acceptable for ordinary people to wear army uniform. It must not be easy for people to access military bases. Soldiers should patrol and protect these facilities. This did not require more money, because the personnel were there to do the work. On IT challenges, there needed to be a different policy. Most of the facilities could be protected and the government could get into risk agreements. He asked for clarity on the issue of vacancies.

Prof Van Harte said she agreed with Members on the issues raised because they were very serious. When the DFSC engaged with leadership, they always highlighted things that were happening on the ground, especially the morale of the soldiers. Things could happen overnight, so there was a need to show we care. Soldiers would remain soldiers -- they had heard of the misbehaviour of soldiers and that had been dealt with accordingly. However, it was not nice to hear them telling about their basic problems that could have been sorted out long ago. Even the conditions that female soldiers had to go through were not humane.

She said that recommendations were monitored regularly. The Minister and the Army Commander were aware of these recommendations, but the challenge was to get feedback from them. There were 30 things that were listed in the recommendations report. The unfortunate thing was that within the system they did not get proper feedback, and that made it difficult to come to the Committee with feedback.

An official from the Defence Force reported there were 19 posts, of which 13 posts had been staffed already (Assistant Directors for Policy Review: Level 9). Three posts were funded (Secretaries: Level 5), and the other three posts (Procurement Clerks: Level 5) were not funded. The matter was receiving urgent attention.

Mr S Marais (DA) asked if the challenges reported were the opinions of the presenter, or empirical. If they were empirical, the Committee needed to confront the Department of Defence. He remarked it would have been a good idea to use the R1 billion set aside for the exit mechanism, but it appeared it was meant for something else. If things kept going this way, the country would not achieve what it had set out to do -- to send soldiers on peace-keeping missions to the borders, townships, etc. He added that the Committee had not seen the strategic objectives and action plans that had been talked about, and he did not know what that meant in reality.

Prof Van Harte said the issues she had presented as challenges could be classified as observations, because some had been reported by the soldiers. If one kept on hearing the same thing, then one must ask oneself if it was not empirical. Everything was based on facts because it they were reported by the soldiers, but they still had a positive attitude because they loved what they were doing. She added that the strategic objective and action plan document would be forwarded to the Committee.

Ms L Dlamini (ANC) said it was clear there were problems in the Defence Force. It was good to see that the working conditions of the soldiers were reported with honesty, and there was no sugar-coating. The government must decide on sectors that need priority. The security of the country was very important. It was not understandable how the uniform of soldiers and computers got stolen. It was a worrying situation. The biggest danger here was when the morale of the soldiers was low due to poor working conditions. The country could not gamble on that. It was understandable that they could not get everything they needed, but the basic conditions of employment should be met. She remarked that the exit mechanism of the reservists could not be left unattended to, and that was why some of them continued to steal from these facilities.

Mr G Skosana (ANC) maintained that the Committee had to get feedback on the number of recommendations implemented, especially after a presentation on the same issues had been made to the Committee. The issues that had been raised were too administrative. Members were now wondering if the administrators were doing their work or if it was the political leadership that was interfering. He said that discrimination within the system was not acceptable. Senior managers needed to implement the laws and regulations that countered discrimination.  Discrimination could not be allowed in a 23-year old democratic country.

Prof Van Harte explained that the issue of discrimination came from the mouths of the soldiers. Some of the soldiers reported they did not get an opportunity to attend courses or to improve their lives because they came from certain defence forces, especially those from the former homelands.

Major-General Bantu Holomisa, Deputy Chairperson of the Commission, said the Committee and the Commission had been in this exercise since 2009. It was becoming repetitive. He suggested the Committee and Commission get together in January 2018 before Parliament opens. The Committee should instruct the Department of Defence and the Commission to come up with answers on the recommendations submitted, and arrange a sitting to address these matters urgently.

Prof Van Harte added the Commission was planning to hold a sitting to come up with a sustainable programme to see if income could be generated from the Defence Force.

Mr Ian Robertson, Member of the Defence Force Service Commission, added that ground had already been covered on what Major-General Holomisa was saying. There were workshops that had been scheduled for August 2017 by the Commission, but they had fallen away. Then in October 2017 the Commission had invited the Minister and the SANDF Chief for funding and to discuss some thorny matters.

The Co-Chairperson (NCOP) said the Commission seemed to be delivering on its mandate and it was clear on what needed to be done. The presentation had been helpful in terms of content and the action plans were clear. The action plans should be made clear as indicators, so that a follow-up could be done with the Department. It was evident there were frustrations around the treatment of the recommendations. These were areas that were in line with the regulations, and they were non-negotiable.

The Co-Chairperson (National Assembly) said the duty of the Committee was to make sure that all stakeholders were under one roof to iron out outstanding policy issues, and the implementation of recommendations, etc. Both the Portfolio Committee and Joint Standing Committee on Defence should meet before the opening of Parliament.

Mr Marais proposed that the use of reserve forces was something that should be considered in order to rejuvenate the Defence Force. The majority of the people in the army were over 45.

Mr Esau said there was a lot that needed to be captured in the annual report. He insisted the Committee should get a copy before it engaged with the stakeholders. It was clear there was a budget, but money was being saved for unknown reasons.

The meeting was adjourned.