REPORT
OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON DEFENCE ON ITS OVERSIGHT VISIT TO SIMON’S TOWN
NAVAL BASE AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILITARY ACADEMY AT SALDANHA: 07 – 08 MAY 2007
The Portfolio Committee on Defence, having undertaken an oversight visit to the
South African Naval Base at Simon’s Town and South African Military Academy at Saldanha, on 07 and 08 May 2007, reports as follows:
INTRODUCTION
This report is presented in the context of the oversight role assigned to the
National Assembly by the Constitution. These visits were conducted as part of
the Portfolio Committee’s oversight and monitoring role over the Department of
Defence, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and their
institutions.
Information contained in this report
is based on presentations made and interactions between the Committee and officials of both
institutions, as well as relevant documentation. A full list of delegation
members, officials from the South African Naval Base and
TERMS OF REFERENCE
In addition to the aforementioned exercise of the
Committee’s constitutionally mandated oversight role; and within the framework
of the constitutional imperatives of transformation; affirmative action and
employment equity, good governance, delivery, accountability and non-racialism,
the Committee had the following objectives:
i) Simon’s Town Naval Base:
The efficacy of psychometric testing: The Committee sought greater clarity
on the standards and procedures followed in the psychological assessment and
processes of naval officers, and whether these were effective in addressing the
imperatives of transformation.
Transformation of the South African
Navy: The Committee hoped to
ascertain the progress made in the transformation of the South African Navy,
including the successes and challenges to this process.
Conditions of facilities:
The Committee wanted to view the state of both living and training facilities,
to gain insight into the conditions in which naval officers work and live.
ii) The
Lessons learnt from
Canadian Study Tour:
Both the Portfolio Committee on Defence and officials from the
Previous
oversight visits to the
One of the ways in which the Committee can monitor the implementation of
legislation and policies of the Department, is to investigate the
implementation of policies and recommendations made on the previous two
oversight visits on
Staff
Concerns: The Committee intended to meet with lecturers of the
Student Concerns: The delegation intended to meet with the students at the
Interaction with senior management of the Academy: The delegation wanted to
meet with the senior officials from the Academy to highlight the concerns
raised by both lecturers and students and to highlight the necessity of
critical areas to attention.
FINDINGS
The Committee made the following findings, based on
the presentations made and subsequent discussions with officials:
DAY 1 : Simon’s Town Naval Base
(Monday,
1. Briefing by Admiral R W Higgs (Chief of Fleet
Staff) and Admiral Madimu (Chief of the South African
Navy)
In their briefing to the Committee, officials from the South African Fleet
Command identified the South African Navy’s core mission as follows: ‘to fight
at sea; to win at sea, to become unchallenged at sea.’ In this vain, the
purpose of the Chief of Navy was to provide supported combat ready naval forces
for CJ operations while the Fleet Command needed to prepare supported combat
ready naval forces for the C Navy.
Key priorities of the South African Navy were identified as:
· Greater involvement in
· Participation in government initiatives in
· Greater South-South Co-operation.
· Building a People’s Navy.
The South African Navy is enhancing its
continental focus through the following initiatives:
· Operationalisation of frigates and submarines.
· Augmentation of current forces with new capabilities
· Ensuring compatibility with neighbours in terms of standard operating
procedures, doctrines as well as common training.
Efforts to improve the delivery and performance
of the fleet was also highlighted and included:
· Rationalisation of combat hardware and ships, thus disposing of old and
non-cost effective vessels.
· Continued transformation and revitalisation of the Reserve Forces.
· The upgrading of facilities which include modernised headquarters, and
the construction of new training facilities.
· The SA Navy has integrated the previous seven standing reserves into the
units of the South African Navy which was part of efforts to bring about an
integrated SA Navy corps.
Certain challenges were also highlighted, which
could have a negative impact on the ability to achieve key goals and
priorities:
· The Navy struggled to retain specialised or scarce skilled personnel.
These could not be easily replaced due to the limited availability of such
skills.
· The strained ability to adapt and transform infrastructure required to
support the strategic defence packages into service.
· Strained ability to conduct the required and contracted qualification
trials necessary to integrate the strategic defence packages into service.
· The age profile is a cause of concern, since the retention and
recruitment of youth remains a challenge.
· Although the rationalisation process was necessary, the SA Navy could be
challenged by the reduction in both manpower and budget. Although the SA Navy
was working towards increasing its relevance in the African battle space as
well as to align itself with broader government initiatives; such an increasing
role necessitates increased in available funding.
Summary
of key issues raised by the Committee, emanating from presentation
· Noting the down-scaling of fleet; the Committee expressed concern over
the possible impact on the Navy’s ability to secure the South African
coastlines.
· The ability to respond adequately to natural disasters anywhere in
· The effect of limited staff capacity on the implementation of key
projects such as Project Millennium.
· The training of cadettes and the relationship
between the SA Navy and SA Air force.
· The SA Navy’s involvement in deep-sea mining activities and the recovery
of sunken vessels.
· The Chairperson urged greater exposure of female officers, regardless of
rank, to high-level discussions and interactions with the Portfolio Committee.
· The retaining of institutional memory of the Navy was critical, and
therefore the success of projects such as project millennium was essential.
3.
Postponement of discussions on the efficacy of psychometric testing of naval
officers
Due to time constraints and the sensitive nature of psychometric assessments in
the SANDF, the Committee agreed that a meeting be rescheduled for a lengthier
and comprehensive discussion on this matter. Officials acknowledged the public
sensitivity and controversy surrounding such tests; the nature of which also merrited discussion.
The Chairperson cautioned officials that the Portfolio Committee’s interest in
better understanding the process of psychometric testing of naval officers was
not informed by any allegations. As these tests were utilised as an important
tool in determining the pschycological eligibility
for entrance into the Navy, an investigation into such processes was
needed. This was particularly important
as
The Committee noted the following key
areas of need in terms of transformation:
· The middle management of the SANDF must be made fully representative.
· Given the strategic objectives of the Department of Defence; the
transformation of the SA Navy needed to reflect the South African demographics.
· The Portfolio Committee had a responsibility to ensure the
implementation of all strategic objectives set, as well as to ensure the global
competitiveness of the Navy.
· There needed to be a deliberate intention of transformation to deal with
the legacies of past discrimination.
4.
Tour of facilities
Rear Admiral K Louw
accompanied the Committee on a tour of the Simon’s Town Naval facilities. The building plans for new accommodation were
also explained. The building of new facilities was scheduled to commence at the
end of 2007. The following facilities were viewed:
· The site for the planned new accommodation.
· The new modernised headquarters which will improve the practical
operation of the naval base.
· Recently completed housing facilities for junior naval officers and
their families.
· The shipping and docking facilities.
· Training facilities.
The total cost for the construction was
estimated at R256 million, of which R30 million would be budgeted from the
annual operational budget. Although the necessary funding for this project was
not readily available, construction could be completed over a three year
period. The revenue generated from the closure and sale of SAS Wingfield
in
DAY 2: South African
Military Academy (Tuesday, 8 May 2007)
Background
The Portfolio Committee on Defence conducted a visit to the South African
Military Academy on both 19 January 2005 and 5 September 2006 as part of its
oversight and monitoring of Department of Defence, the South African National
Defence Force [SANDF] and their institutions. During both visit (s) the
Committee assessed the implementation of recommendations made in 2005 and made
further recommendations based on their findings.
The report is based on the second follow-up visit, led by the Committee
Chairperson, Ms Thandi Tobias, to investigate the
implementation of recommendations made during the 2006 oversight visit.
Additional items on the Committee’s agenda included an exchange of ideas on
separate study tours to the
2.
Briefing on the study tour to the
Officials
from the South African Military Academy at Saldanha undertook
a study tour to the
·
·
While the
·
·
Differences in the reporting lines of the Deans of
the respective Academies were also noted. While the Dean of the South African
Military Academy at Saldanha reports to the
Commandant, her Canadian counterpart reports directly to the Minister of
Defence.
·
·
Unlike its South African counterpart, the
·
·
Like the Royal Academy, South Africa needs to
generate research on current peacekeeping operations it involved itself with,
especially those in
·
Unlike its Canadian counterpart, library services
at the Academy were not up to standard. This needs greater attention.
3. The Committee’s response
to the presentation
The
Committee made the following observations, based on both the Committee’s
experiences during the study tour of
·
The ethos of the South African Military Academy at Saldanha needs to be reflected in the image of the
institution. A professional culture needs to be developed and the physical
infrastructure needed to be upgraded.
·
A pragmatic approach to learning and teaching is
important to both transform the culture of teaching at the institution and to
produce research and theorising on current security issues, conflicts and peace
keeping operations. The extent to which the work of the Academy directs and
informs the administration is very important.
·
A synergy between the physical and academic
development of students at South African Military Academy at Saldanha was important to ensure the nurturing of
well-balanced, educated, physically resilient and competitive members of the
Defence Forces.
·
Pride in being part of the SANDF needs to be
instilled through honouring and commemorating the contribution of war veterans
made in the defence of our country.
·
Improvements in the reporting lines of the Dean
need to be investigated and improved upon.
·
The relevance of specialisation and the PHDs produced to the defence or security field is
necessary, rather than only an increase in research produced. This research
needed to be useful to the Department and to contribute in the understanding of
security matters.
·
The extension of the degree programme to four years
merits further discussion.
·
The exchange programme needs to focus on both
students and lecturers, to ensure that both parties are allowed to develop
academically.
·
Language in the context of the role and priorities
of the South African Military Academy at Saldanha was
central. The significance of language in the South African Military Academy at Saldanha, given the strategic priorities of the SANDF,
needed to be reflected in the curriculum.
·
Lessons drawn from the study tour needed to be
utilised to achieve higher standards of professionalism, internationally
competitive military and academic skills, and to assist in the development of a
model to ensure the harmonious co-existence of both military training and
academics.
·
Creative ways of transforming
·
Although lessons could be drawn from the
·
Given the centrality of the NEPAD programme and
·
Advantage needed to be taken of the various
technological advancements to ensure the continuous improvement in teaching and
training at the South African Military Academy at Saldanha.
·
The ways in which training is incorporated into the
curriculum needed re-examination to ensure that academic development and
training co-exist harmoniously.
·
Greater levels of maturity and co-operation at the
·
Greater relationships between stakeholders as well
as foreign institutions need to be fostered to ensure access to greater
research funding.
·
The implementation of Committee recommendations:
Briefing by Admiral D J Christian of the South African Military Academy
Recommendation 1: The curriculum should be carefully reviewed and
improved.
Progress made: A Task Team, set up by the Dean of the Academy,
produced a draft report on the outcomes of its review of the current curriculum
in March 2007. Due to the complexity of changing a curriculum, the Department
is due to consult with as many stakeholders as possible, including the
Portfolio Committee on Defence. This process
would not be hurried, and a final report is due during 2008.
Recommendation 2:
The Academy needs to be transformed into an ‘Academy of Excellence’
Progress made: The Department incorporated the twin goals of academic
excellence and the nurturing of world class leaders in the military and
academic field, in its vision and new goals, adopted in 2006. Although this was
not an immediately attainable goal; the Department believed that the
foundations for the development of internationally competitive
·
Staff participation in both international and
national conferences is encouraged.
·
Greater research outputs were demanded. This
followed the result of a study undertaken by the Department of Education which
illustrated the decline in research outputs by the Academy. In this vain, the
number of PHDs candidates produced by South African
Military Academy at Saldanha would increase over
time.
·
Annual staff development visits take place in June
each year. Interviews are also conducted to ensure that faculty members and
lecturers are enjoying their current research.
·
Two national conferences are being planned for
2007.
Recommendation 3
The Higher Education Assessment Committee should review the professional
degrees offered by the Academy.
Progress made: Independent studies conducted by the Higher
Education Quality Committee of the Department of Education, the School for
Science and Technology as well as the School for Security and African Studies
highlighted the following problem areas:
·
Insufficient funding
·
Issues related to the contractual relationship
between the Department and the
·
Lack of staff
·
The need to improve research outputs
·
Ineffective human resource management
·
Problems associated with its certificate programme
The remaining three schools would be assessed during the course of 2007.
The Dean would submit a development plan to the
Recommendation 4:
The process for reporting and addressing the complaints of sexual
harassment must be addressed.
Progress made: A representative Sexual Harassment Committee has been
appointed, chaired by Ms N Van Der Waag. No formal complaints had been received since April
2006.
Recommendation 5:
The language policy needs to be reviewed, especially as it relates to
practical matters such as meetings and correspondence within the Academy.
Progress made: Although English had been formally adopted as the
language of instruction, it is very difficult to change the institutional
culture of which communication in Afrikaans was a cornerstone. Correspondence
from management was sometimes received in Afrikaans. R100 000 had been provided
for translation services.
Recommendation 6
The Academy’s Distance Education courses should be done in close
cooperation with Department of Education.
Progress made: From the inception of Distance Education courses in 2003,
this programme had produced its first two graduates in 2003. There are
currently 64 undergraduates and 71 post - graduate
students. The management of Distance learning programmes offered has improved
due to the appointment of the necessary competent staff. A project was currently underway which would
link
Recommendation 7:
The Department of Public Works and Department of Defence to upgrade
facilities; Computer facilities needed to be upgraded.
Progress made: Computers had been upgraded and were regularly replaced
or upgraded.
Recommendation 8:
Vacancies should be advertised and filled within a maximum of three month
period
Progress made: The recruitment and appointment process of the DOD was
explained, and allowed for a six-week advertising time frame; one week short
listing process; a three week selection process by the selection board, a three
week waiting time for feed back on recommendations submitted to the University
of Stellenbosch; three weeks waiting period for
approval by Minister, before letters of appointment can be issued.
Recommendation 9:
Recommendation should be given to the Department of Education for funding
through the usual block grant.
Progress made: The block grant will be done through the
Recommendation 10:
In the interest of Academic excellence; the system of paying lecturers
according to the South African National Defence Force salary scales should be
terminated. At present, the Department of Defence is responsible for the
remuneration of academic personnel
Progress made: The University of Stellenbosch
was reluctant to give details of the remuneration packages of their Academic
staff. At a recent Stellenbosch University Board
meeting it was agreed to provide the information that was requested through a
letter from the DoD. This information is still pending
and is to be included in the proposal on remuneration to be submitted for
consideration.
Recommendation 11
The critical tuning point in the relationship
between
Progress made: The relationship between
Recommendation 12
Dean should be given security of tenure:
Progress made: The appointment of the Dr van Harte
as the Dean for a period of five years had been done through a Memorandum of
Understanding. The Dean would report via the Vice Rector of Education to the
Rector and would be remunerated by the University.
5. The Committee identified the
following matters that needed further clarification
An imbalance between the level of vacancies at the Academy and the high
levels of new students recruited posed a challenge. What was being done to
remedy the situation?
The quality of the distance learning programme in comparison with the full-time
study programme at the
The reach of South African Military Academy at Saldanha
should be expanded to other military bases. The idea of satellite campuses
merited further exploration.
The rejuvenation of the
Given the lack of improvement in the academic results, much more needed to be
done to improve the overall pass rate.
A lack of confidence in the future relevance of the South African Military
Academy at Saldanha was detected. The Committee urged
officials to engage Members of Parliament on the reasons for this. This would
assist the committee in formulating recommendations on the ways to strengthen
the institution.
Clarity on the extent of opportunities for further study opportunities beyond
the Military Skills Development System [MSDS] curriculum and employment
opportunities for graduates were also probed.
The establishment of the Sexual Harassment Committee was noted. The South
African Military Academy at Saldanha needed to
provide clarification on the operating procedures of this Committee. How was
sexual harassment cases managed?
6. Meeting with Lecturers and Teaching
Assistants
As in 2005, the Committee delegation met again with about 100 staff
members. Their key areas of concern included:
·
The high turn-over of black academics. Staff
members felt that the Committee had a key role to play to ensure the retention
and attraction of black lecturers to South African Military Academy at Saldanha
·
The existing recruitment and equity plans were
ineffective. It was felt that the Committee has a responsibility to ensure the
full transformation of the culture of the institution.
·
Securing promotion according to the current
promotion plan was difficult. Delays in the finalisation of promotions were
impacting negatively on the morale of staff.
·
Current salary scales were not sufficiently
competitive, compared to those of other universities.
·
The research capacities of faculties needed to be
improved to ensure that both professors and junior researchers further develop
their research skills. Greater allocation of funds to build the research
capacity and profile South African Military Academy at Saldanha
as a research institution, were needed. Lecturing without continuous
development of the research capacity was not feasible.
·
The institution’s profile as a higher education
facility needed to be raised to ensure comparability with similar, domestic and
international tertiary institutions. This should be twinned with the upgrading
of facilities.
·
Vacant posts needed to be filled as a matter of
urgency.
·
Although committed to transformation, there was a
need for a dedicated diversity management programme.
·
The budget should be increased in line with the
growth in student intake.
7. Meeting with students
As in 2005, the Committee delegation met again with approximately 200
students. The following issues were raised:
·
Incongruence between the standard
procedures and policies introduced by different arms of services and the
overall DOD policy was identified. The Committee needed to provide clarity on
which policy took precedence.
·
Preference for entrance into the Military Skills
Development System [MSDS] programme should be given to matriculants.
Enrolment at other tertiary institutions should be encouraged for those
applicants with incomplete degrees.
·
Concerns were raised over the employment prospects
in the public sector, since many students will not be recruited to work in
other departments. How could the portfolio committee assist in dealing with
this matter?
·
Although the South African Military Academy at Saldanha was encouraged to accelerate transformation of the
Academy, a progress report on the extent of this transformation was still
pending.
·
In terms of the Military Skills Development System,
what criteria were being used to identify those skills that are considered
marketable?
·
·
The lack of funding to recruit lecturers and retain
postgraduate students, especially those of previously disadvantaged
backgrounds, constrained the transformation of this Academy.
·
There was a need for more skilled personnel.
·
Concerns were expressed over the high rate of
failure, and the impact the limited access to adequate library services had on
the successful completion of studies.
·
The faculties were not spending their budgets as
required.
·
Given the lack of security of employment, many are
tempted to work in the private sector.
8. Meeting with the
management of the Academy
The management team, which included the Dean of the Academy, Dr E Van Harte, noted the concerns raised
by students and staff, and provided the following responses to specific
matters:
·
The Academy is committed to the spending of the
budget. However due to the ring-fencing of the Academy’s budget, some
departments could not spend their budgets timeously.
·
The understaffing of the library is acknowledged,
but cautioned that the appointment of staff was a function of the command
management. Management was aware of the shortages of library material and
inconvenient closing times of the library. This matter was closely monitored.
·
Challenges to the implementation of the MSDS
experienced by both students and teachers were noted. Although the
D: COMMITTEE
RECOMMENDATIONS
Following
the outcomes of the Portfolio Committee on Defence’s interactions with
officials from the South African Navy in Simonstown
and the South African Military Academy at Saldanha as
well as careful consideration of information provided, the Committee submits
the following recommendations:
(i) South
African Navy, Simon’s Town
The Committee acknowledges and appreciates the continued efforts to enhance the
effectiveness and competitiveness of the South African Navy. The preservation of the institutional memory
of the SA Navy is critical and thus the implementation of strategies such as
the 2010 Human Resource Strategy.
The Committee recommends lengthier discussions with the Department on the
psychometric testing within the SANDF. The rescheduling of such interaction
should be prioritised.
The Committee acknowledges concerns expressed over the funding limitations
faced by the South African Navy. However, given the developmental imperatives
of the South African government, reflected in budgetary priorities, creative
ways to address challenges needs to be developed.
The exposure of women officers, regardless of rank, to interactions with the
Portfolio Committee, should be promoted.
(ii)
The
transformation of the Academy remains critical. The staff and student
population needs to be reflective of the national demographics.
The staff vacancy rate is too high. It is imperative that the Academy remains
sufficiently staffed.
The need for further development of the Academy’s research capacity is noted. Creative methods of accessing additional sources of research
funding needs to be developed. Closer links between
the private sector, particularly fellow research institutions, both
domestically and abroad, needs to be fostered.
There is a need for satellite campuses to particularly other military bases
across
Much work needs to be done to improve the quality of both exam results and low
pass rates.
Library services currently offered are insufficient to the study needs of
students. Such services and the study material available must be urgently
improved. Advantage needs to be taken of current technological development.
Greater balance between the physical and intellectual development of students
are needed. The review of the current three year degree programme offered by
the Academy to accommodate this balance is important.
Commitment to National Service and the aims of the public service needs to be
encouraged among both students and staff members. It is important that students
are not demoralised, as this would affect professionalism at the Academy.
The retention of lecturers and the increased development of PHD students needs to be prioritised. The recruitment of specialised
lecturers, particularly black and female, should be actively promoted.
FORMAL ADOPTION OF REPORT BY THE
COMMITTEE:
This report of the oversight visit to the South African Military Academy,
having been put to the Committee, was adopted on
Report to be considered.
APPENDIX 1
COMMITTEE DELEGATION LIST
Ms T V Tobias [Chairperson and
leader of the delegation]
Mr S B Ntuli: [ANC]
Mr J Schippers: [ANC]
Ms P Daniels: [ANC]
Mr L Diale: [ANC]
Mr S Pheko: [PAC]
APPENDIX 2
OFFICIALS FROM SOUTH AFRICAN NAVAL BASE, SIMONSTOWN:
Vice Admiral
J. Mudimu
Rear Admiral H. Bester
Rear Admiral (JG) K. Louw
Rear Admiral (JG) P. Duze
Rear Admiral (JG) R. Higgs
Capt L. Fourie
Capt L. Hutton
APPENDIX
3
Officials from the South African Military Academy [Management]:
Commandant of the Military Academy
R Adm D J Christian
Academic Programmes:
Dean of the Faculty of Military Science: Professor D J Malan
Dean of Students: Dr E Van Harte, University of Stellenbosch
Military Professional Development Programmes:
Lieutenant Colonel S B Nombewu
Support Services
Colonel G M Louw
Learnerhip Leadership:
Ensign S Ndlovu
General Officer Commanding Training Command
Maj Gen M A Ntshinga
Chief of Staff
Col K Mancotywa
Chief of Joint Operations of the South African National Defence
Lieutenant General Themba Matanzima