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22 May 20

Programme Director
Minister Alec Erwin
Members of the Portfolio Committee, Hon Schoeman and Dr Koornhof
Godmother, Mrs Ndzanga
Secretary for Defence
Chief of the South African Navy
Generals, Admirals and Flag Officers
Senior Officers and Officers
Warrant Officers
Non-commissioned Officers
Members of the media
Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen

The arrival of the SAS Queen Modjadji I on the shores of South Africa is witness to the realisation of a critical milestone in the rejuvenation of the South African National Defence Force.

The SAS Queen Modjadji I arrives home to join our already commissioned submarines, the SAS 'Manthatisi and the SAS Charlotte Maxeke. These submarines, together with the recently acquired Meko Class Frigates, constitute a formidable maritime force, capable of ensuring a Maritime Defence capability for our country and its people.

The SAS Queen Modjadji I takes her name from the first Queen of the Balobedu Ba Ga-Modjadji, the descendants of whom we are honoured to have with us today.

The history of the divine kingship of the Balobedu Ba Ga-Modjadji dates back to the 17th Century. It is a history characterised by two distinct historical genealogical periods. The Modjadji Dynasty had been successively ruled by a lengthy cycle of kings, followed, after the prophecy of King Mogodo just before his death, by a cycle of rule by queens, the first of whom was Queen Maselekwane Modjadji I.

Her ascent to the throne in the 19th Century marked the commencement of an era of peace and prosperity; an era where Balobedu were able to expand their quality of life, prosperity and growth in harmony.

It is thus fitting, that the SAS Queen Modjadji I should bear the name of a woman whose reign saw the entry of Balobedu into an age of peace and harmony. While the primary role of this submarine will be to defend South Africa's interests and territorial integrity, her task is greater. SAS Queen Modjadji, together with the SAS Charlotte Maxeke, and the SAS 'Manthatisi brings to the region and the African continent, a significant strategic deterrent capability.
The submarines, together with the recently acquired Meko Class Frigates, will considerably strengthen the ability of the South African Navy to consolidate the African Agenda in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

This in turn will ensure that there is peace and stability in the region which is necessary for the consolidation of democracy in the region. The provision of such regional and continental maritime security is fundamental to development and growth.

This contribution is important, particularly when read within the context of our priorities for the coming period. Our Plan of Action clearly affirms our intention to continue to play a pivotal role in the prevention and resolution as well as Post Conflict Reconstruction, and in helping to promote peace and security on the continent.

We have resolved to continue to support the reconstruction initiatives and the Security Sector Reform underway in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and we remain seized with bringing peace, security and stability to such regions as the Western Sahara, Cote d'Ivoire, Somalia, and Ethiopia/Eritrea.

Another area where South Africa continues to make an important contribution is in the promotion of regional and maritime security.

In collaboration with countries in the region, we continue to deal with matters pertaining to training, strengthening the area of Naval Co-ordination and Guidance of Shipping and furthering exploration in the area of sealift capabilities required for regional peace operations.

Furthermore, we have pledged our support to capacitate the SADC Brigade, and we foresee that our ships and submarines will be instrumental in supporting the maritime component of this Brigade.

Furthermore, it is our intention to continue to participate with the navies of the Littoral States of the Indian Ocean in the promotion of Maritime Security in the greater Indian Ocean region.

Our collective focus in this regard will address gaining an understanding of maritime issues facing Littoral States of the Indian Ocean; formulating a common set of strategies to enhance regional maritime security; strengthening capability of the Littoral Nation States of the Indian Ocean and promoting co-operative maritime mechanisms.

Our government's commitment to the region and the continent has resulted in an increasing number of obligations on the part of our sea, air and land forces.

This will require we recruit young men and women who will undergo the necessary training to operate sophisticated technology, such as that you see before you today.

In this regard, we believe that our Military Skills Development Programme will be instrumental in attracting the calibre of youth required to serve our country and its people.

The South African National Defence Force provides some of the finest technical training in the region, and such training, together with the discipline and professionalism inherent to a military organisation, ensure that we are able to use our advanced technology in service of our nation and its people.

As part of our ongoing training and preparation of our navy, we successfully completed an exercise with the navies from India and Brazil and are proud of the performance of our sister submarines and frigates during the exercise.

These ships and submarines distinguished themselves across the last period, during which they have participated in a number of multi-national exercises, including exercise Amazolo with the Nato Forces, and exercises IBSAmar and Atlasur amongst others.

These Exercises have afforded South Africa the opportunity to engage with some of the finest maritime nations in the world, and to demonstrate our capability and readiness to serve the region and the continent in supporting the objectives of government.

In this regard, we note with pride that as we speak, one of our submarines is embarked in conducting a patrol of our Exclusive Economic Zone, a visible manifestation of our capability to exercise a presence in the waters of our region.

In conclusion, to Vice-Admiral Mudimu and your team, we wish you and the South African Navy fair winds and flowing seas. Today has borne testimony to the new history being written, within the South African Navy, and within the Department of Defence in particular. This is a history which speaks of an era of peace and prosperity for all in the region and on the continent, and which speaks of opportunities to be created, and dreams to be realised.

I also want to congratulate our seamen and women who have brought home our SAS Queen Modjadji I for the sterling work they have done, which makes us a proud people.

We wish you well and we thank you.

Issued by: Department of Defence
22 May 2008