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On the second of June 1999, the people of South Africa renewed the mandate to the ANC-led government to deliver a better life for all. The Ministry and Department of Defence take that mandate seriously and are accelerating the process of change.

Transformation and Representivity

However, we realise that transforming the Defence Force is not an easy task. It forms one of the biggest challenges facing the democratic government. Some of the problems go back to the agreements reached at the negotiations.

Despite these problems, transformation in the SANDF has started in earnest. All the policies, strategies and targets are in place. Also in place are guidelines to have an efficient Defence Force that is representative and professional.

We are working to identify and remove all obstacles in the path of transformation and empowerment of our members. We are looking at the following critical issues :

Ensuring that :

* the staffing boards are representative, credible, fair, equitable and transparent
* the result of the staffing process must therefore reflect government policy on racial and gender representivity, and finally that
* there is timely and proper communication to all stakeholders.

What are some of the key challenges?

While the majority of the privates and corporals in the SANDF are black, the middle layer remains predominantly white and male. To correct this we have identified the need to recruit more blacks and women into the Navy and the Air Force and to invest in targeted training of black students and soldiers to enter and advance in these highly technical arms of service.

This investment will also focus on providing quality leadership. Soldiers recognise and respect good leadership. A good commander cares for and listens to the troops and will not send them where he or she won't go. We now know that General Geldenhuys gained the respect of his troops by leading them from the front.

We are concerned about the resistance to change from some sections of the Defence Force. The theft of SANDF property is receiving our immediate and thorough attention. Similarly we are getting to the bottom of other criminal activities, such as soldiers assisting and participating in mercenary activity. We will soon be making an announcement on this issue.

As part of the process of accelerating change, we will be strengthening the oversight role of the Secretariat and the Ministry, and will be asking experts to assist us. We are monitoring the departmental plans regarding transformation and will be asking for regular reports on the implementation of government policies.

But, transformation goes beyond numbers. We want to ensure that democratic values are entrenched in every aspect of our work. The Civic Education Programme will become a core part of all training and will include transforming the cultures of the SANDF so that it reflects the values of justice, peace, democracy and development, as well as the diverse spectrum of its membership.

The Budget

Monitoring the Defence Budget is an important tool of civilian oversight. Transparency in defence spending will make it possible to monitor how much is spent and on what. The Minister of Defence has given me the responsibility to monitor the defence budget. The new process of managing departmental finances will make the task of monitoring on a monthly and bi-annual basis easier.

I will be working very closely with Chief of Finance in the Defence Secretariat in all aspects of the budget process. I will co-operate with Parliament, which will play a crucial role, and experts in civil society will assist me in monitoring the defence budget. This will allow for tighter budget control and reprioritisation.

Collateral Utility

The DoD is discussing ways to share resources and spare capabilities with other government departments to assist in reconstruction and service delivery. We are contributing to the fight against tropical diseases and the HIV/Aids pandemic.

Regional Stability

The former SADF was perceived as a threat to its own people and to its neighbours. We have just come from a history of maximising regional destabilisation. It becomes imperative that we optimise our efforts at promoting regional security. Our power as a major player in the region is not necessarily seen by all as a catalyst to further regional co-operation.

On the other hand, it is widely acknowledged that we are the armed forces of a democracy, one that leads in pursuit of democratic values. This is an advantage as we seek to promote our common interests in the region. Instead of being trapped by a paradigm that mechanistically interprets the military in the sense of armed force, our democratic nature allows us to pursue regional co-operation without having to be seen as the policeman of Southern Africa.

We need to maximise our opportunities without creating fears amongst our partners. We have also to interpret the African Renaissance as meaning that we should share resources and develop African competencies collectively so that we may take our rightful place on the world stage.

Our initiatives must be joint and multi-lateral in that we share commitment and accountability. If we are required to add to our Navy acquiring deep sea experience whilst patrolling our common fishing grounds, we expect that our partner should cover some of the operational costs. It is this visible contribution that is essential for authentic partnering.

We will be promoting through SADC forums the sharing of training opportunities. Whilst we agree that we have to expose some of our personnel to the large military academies of the world, there is absolutely no reason why we cannot promote joint operability by training SADC forces together in African countries. This promotes regional stability and our common security.

We have many years of co-operation in the health sphere that will promote regional stability and security. We now need to make greater strides towards combating the HIV/Aids pandemic, malaria, tuberculosis and malnutrition.

Security is not a matter of guns only, but is also about combating all threats to our national sovereignty and security, be they in the form of belligerent forces or belligerent buds, or poverty. We will be intensifying our collaborative efforts with the health agencies in the region to fight these enemies together.

An analysis of the causes of conflicts in Africa reveals that issues of access and control of development resources appear to be the underlying cause of most conflicts. This assumption is clearly illustrated by the nature of the conflicts in both Angola, the DRC and the Great Lakes region.

The relevance of development not only relates to the causes of war, but also to its severe impact on the socio-economic development of a nation and its human and physical development resources. It is for this reason that we have concerned ourselves, not only with issues of physical security, but the broader concept of human security.

We believe that in order to achieve a sustainable peace in the region, issues of economic development must be integrated into all our interventions.

This assumption provides an alternative approach to peacekeeping on the African continent. Such an intervention would utilise development interventions to solve what is fundamentally a development crisis. When one considers the fact that the needs of people whose livelihoods have been devastated by floods or war are often barely distinguishable from the needs of those living in absolute poverty and facing permanent emergency, it gives a new impetus for the implementation of developmental peacekeeping initiatives.

Given the interrelated developmental causes and consequences of complex emergencies, peacekeeping interventions cannot be fully effective unless they are related to a comprehensive strategy, for peace and security, human rights and social and economic development. In other words, these kinds of interventions should be planned to incorporate the basic principles normally applied to development projects. These principles require working with and through local institutions; consulting with local people about their perceptions and needs; and where possible, linking rehabilitation work with existing and related programmes and projects.

Albert Einstein argued that peace couldn't be kept through force. Peacekeepers of the future should therefore not just be military personnel keeping or enforcing peace, but be active facilitators in laying the foundation of sustainable peace. Peace attained in this way is not just a silence of guns after a war, but a sustainable effort at ensuring lasting peace and posterity. Such an approach provides stability, reduces dependency, lessens vulnerability and provides hope to populations devastated by war, by addressing the root causes of conflict. We should implement short-term reconstruction measures, which are balanced by concerns for long-term development of civil society. Inequalities that exist among our people must be reduced, so that all can enjoy a better quality of life.

This poses critical challenges to any intervention, which aims to become a force for sustainable peace and socio-economic development on the African continent. It is the contention of our Ministry that a socio-economic development intervention could function as a catalyst for sustainable peace and socio-economic development within the context of peacekeeping.

As a result, it is proposed that all future peacekeeping interventions conducted b the SANDF or in which the SANDF participate should ascribe to the principles of participatory, empowering and sustainable development. This would require a refocused and retraining of our soldiers to meet the demands of developmental peacekeeping.

For such an intervention to succeed we need to develop and enhance our systems to enable our members to facilitate sustainable solutions in the various areas of operation. We have proposed to train and make available our peacekeeping formation to facilitate some of the reconstruction processes required in the Northern Province, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape.

This is a unique opportunity to empower and equip our communities and peacekeepers with skills and opportunities that will contribute to making the African Renaissance a sustainable African reality.

Women and Peace

The gender dimension of peacebuilding tends to be overlooked. Our commitment to gender equality, human rights and peacebuilding mean that this should be corrected. We are convening three events this year, focusing on women and peace. These activities, which will bring together women in defence with women in civil society, will assist us to examine peace through a gender lens. They will help us focus on the role of women in peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Women's voices and perspectives in peace negotiations and peacebuilding have been absent. It is essential that they be heard.

To build a world where gender equality and human rights are respected deep-rooted change is necessary. The specific way in which women's security is undermined and their human rights violated during the state of war must be addressed. We have planned these activities so that women can define what security and peace mean to them and what role they will play in peacekeeping and peacebuilding.

Combating the Proliferation of Small Arms

In July 1999 the OAU adopted a declaration to combat the Illicit Proliferation, Circulation and trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons. The OAU also adopted a position not to recognise military regimes or governments that have come about as a result of a coup. We welcome this important step and that taken by the EU to regulate the arms trade and limit arms flows to regions plagued by conflicts. We also acknowledge the role played by civil society in their efforts to combat the proliferation of guns in our society.

A programme is being developed to involve broader society in the campaign to fight the proliferation of guns. The collection and destruction of illegal guns in Kwa Mashu will involve Youth Representatives from all political parties coming from Lindelani, Richmond, the Northern Central Local Council, school and the Local Community Policing Forum.

We have begin plans for the destruction of illegal small arms and all surplus stock. We realise that many conflicts in our region are fuelled by the proliferation of small weapons. Most wars in our continent are not fought with canons and mortars.

Later this year, the SANDF will conduct a public destruction of the illegal small arms and our surplus stock. This will be a public activity and will be used to raise awareness about the danger of illegally acquired and surplus small arms. We are discussing the idea of building a monument to peace, using the residue of the destroyed weapons, in memory of all those that have died in wars in Africa. This monument will serve as a reminder of our commitment to peace and the abolition of war in Africa.

I want to thank Minister Lekota, whose friendship and comraderie go back many years. We both share a past in the trenches of the mass democratic movement. I also thank my advisor, Kevin Qhobosheane; the parliamentary committees and my staff. Let me say also how happy I am to be part of the defence in a democracy. The generals sitting here have all welcomed me into their field. Finally, I want to thank dearly my husband Jeremy Routledge sitting in the gallery and my family who gave me unwavering support.

Enquiries: Sam Mkhwanazi, tel:(021) 469-6008, cell: 083 628 0858

Issued by Deputy Ministry of Defence