South Africa has marked its 10-year anniversary of peacekeeping missions. At a military parade in the central city of Bloemfontein, President Jacob Zuma said the missions brought hope to the African continent.
Addressing 1,000 veterans of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) peacekeeping missions, Zuma said: "Victims of instability can now see the light at the end of the tunnel."
Defenceweb said Zuma argued that democracies needed strong defence forces. He said:
There are those who believe that the intensification of democracy in any country reduces the security threat, and that there is no need to invest in defence in democracies such as ours. This is a mistaken view. The existence of conflict in many regions in the world indicates that democracy within one’s borders is not a guarantee of national security. Nations have to invest in their security, and we will not be found wanting in that regard; for, the instability in our continent presents a direct national security threat to us. We see no contradiction between democracy and a powerful and highly capable National Defence Force
.
South Africa made peacekeeping and stability on the African continent a key element of its foreign policy after the end of Apartheid in 1994. According to a Department of Defence Media Statement, the first peacekeeper, was Colonel Hans Swart, who was sent to the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in support of peace missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). According to Independent Newspapers, Zuma added:
The SANDF has put South Africa amongst one of the world's largest contributors of peacekeeping operations.
The rationale behind the policy decision was that there were too many wars in Africa for the U.N. to handle, and South Africa, along with other African countries, had to work to stabilize the continent. This appears to have borne fruit. Jean-Marie Guehenno, UN Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, said in
AfricaFocus:
After so many years of destruction, something new is happening, at last. The killing has largely stopped. ... One point to note in all this: the peace processes are mostly homegrown.
The need for peace was dire. Following the overthrow of Mohammed Siad Barre in Somalia, and then the collapse of Mobutu Sese Seko’s regime in Zaire (now DRC) the East-Central part of Africa erupted in what was called
”Africa’s First World War,” with four million people killed DRC alone.
Today, with the exception of the country’s north-eastern corner, there is no fighting in the vast central African nation and South Africa played a key role in mediating a ceasefire agreement in 1999, led by the then president, Nelson Mandela.
Furore Over New Arms Purchase
Meanwhile, a furore has blown up over the purchase of eight new transport planes needed to carry heavy equipment for just such operations.
Janet Szabo
The Ageing C-130 Hercules of the S.A. Air Force
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Chief Executive Officer of the state-owned arms company, Armscor, Sipho Thomo, told Parliament last week that the cost of the Airbus A400M Loadmaster heavy lift aircraft would be 47 billion rand, or about seven billion dollars, media reports said.
It was also revealed that former Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, when ordering the aircraft, had not followed open tender policies. South African aviation companies have also benefited from the deal and will build parts for the Airbus plane, if the project gets off the ground.
Official opposition Democratic Alliance defence spokesman David Maynier hammered the current defence minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, for not sharing the ”massive risk” posed by the deal with the defence committee. Civil society organisations have also severely criticized the government for the decision. Lekota, the former defence minister,
defended the need for the aircraft:
Being a member of the United Nations on this continent, South Africa remains the country contributing most to peace missions and we need the transportation capacity.
The Airbus military programme has been under pressure for some time. Unlike the American C-17 Globemaster or the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, both tried and tested aircraft, the Airbus is a new design whose first prototype has not yet flown. Designed and built by a European consortium, over 190 planes have been ordered by mainly NATO countries. Problems with the advanced software, engine and propeller design and wing structure have caused delays and cost overruns.
The first planes were supposed to have been delivered to South Africa in 2010, but now the first deliveries are only expected in 2016.
However,
Defenceweb reports that Airbus has categorically denied the figure of seven billion dollars. The website quoted a company spokesman who said he could: QUOTE
Confirm that we are engaged in ongoing discussions with the South African authorities regarding developments with the A400M programme…the first aircraft is due to fly within the next few weeks.
The spokesman added:
As these discussions are the subject of ongoing contractual negotiations, we cannot divulge specific details. Nevertheless, the price tag, which has been attributed to Armscor’s CE, Mr Sipho Thomo, is wildly exaggerated.
The South African government has until the end of October to decide to continue participating in the program, or pull out of the deal.
