Pretoria – The Defence Force must ensure that it recruits high-calibre people into its ranks, says Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
“We need to pay close attention to the kind of people we should be recruiting, where they are and how best to attract them in the SANDF,” she said, adding that as the South African Defence Force (SANDF) they had a responsibility to equip the Defence Force with the necessary capabilities to ensure its operational readiness.
“We need to resolve the problems relating to the efficient use of our budget to resolve problems of our acquisition of capabilities,” said the minister.
She was briefing media on Thursday, after engaging with senior SANDF members on ways to improve performance.
Minister Mapisa-Nqakula said for the SANDF to operate at its best, it needed to hire the best.
“We should position our military training to produce more competent officers and non-commissioned officers given that we currently have an ageing force that is in dire need of rejuvenation.
“As an organisation going through fundamental change in its design, positioning and future trajectory, we need to find a way of ensuring that everyone is involved in the process of change,” she said.
According to Minister Mapisa-Nqakula, Thursday’s meeting with the senior SANDF members was imperative for her to get first-hand information from the Generals.
Also as part of the meeting, issues pertaining to corruption and discipline were discussed.
“From the leadership point of view we discussed the challenges we face in the area of leadership in the short and medium term. We have an urgent need to prepare future layers leadership through a focused strategy with clearly outlined outcomes,” Minister Mapisa-Nqakula said.
Touching on peace keeping missions by the SANDF, Minister Mapisa-Nqakula commended the SANDF troops, saying they had done a good job.
“Our soldiers have performed very well and wherever they have been deployed on the continent we salute them,” she said.
The Defence Force is currently deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in the Darfur region in Sudan. – SAnews.gov.za
