The President of the Republic submitted the following letter, dated 2 July 2004, to the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces informing Members of the Council of the employment of the South African National Defence Force:

EMPLOYMENT OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL DEFENCE FORCE IN SUDAN IN FULFILLMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA TOWARDS THE AFRICAN UNION

This serves to inform the National Council of Provinces that I authorised the employment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) personnel to Sudan as part of the African Union Observer Mission in Sudan.

This employment was authorised in accordance with the provisions of section 201(2)(c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No 108 of 1996), read with section 93 of the Defence Act, 2002 (Act No 42 of 2002).

A total of 10 members are employed for an initial period of 21 months. The members will be rotated after 12 months.

The African Union will provide air tickets and a daily subsistence allowance to cover meals, accommodation and expenses of the Military Observers. The total estimated cost to be borne by
South Africa for the deployment of personnel to the mission until 31 March 2006 is R2 044 602,00 to cover the standard Republic of South Africa allowances for foreign deployments and mid-term home visit air travel.

The Department of Defence will accommodate the expenditure within its current allocation for Peace Support Operations.

I will communicate this report to the Members of the National Assembly and the Chairperson of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, and wish to request that you bring the contents hereof to the notice of the National Council of Provinces.

Regards

SIGNED

T M MBEKI