Military training facility ‘under threat’ from civilian homes
The facility trains operatives to be combat-ready for deployment anywhere in the country within a short space of time.
An oversight visit to a military training facility for South Africa’s elite Special Forces concluded that the facility was “under threat from encroaching civilian populations”.
Homes and structures being built too close to the facility’s parameter fences are, however, only one of the problems it faced.
It also had to cope with an increase in the theft of electricity cables and the destruction of water pipes supplying the facility.
This was the conclusion of a defence portfolio committee following a visit to the facility in Murrayhill, north of Pretoria, on Saturday.
The committee also visited the Department of Defence and Military Veterans headquarters in Hatfield in Pretoria.
The facility trains operatives to be combat-ready for deployment anywhere in the country within a short space of time.
“The facility highlighted that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure had abandoned its role of repairing damaged infrastructure,” said the acting chairperson of the committee, Thabo Mmutle.
He said the facility had to use generators to keep the lights on and has also resorted to installing JoJo tanks for water by funding it themselves.
“There must be a clear decision from command council in terms of the lands surrounding the bases,” Mmutle said.
He said the committee recommended that it should also look into the installation of boreholes as a source of water.
Mmutle said the electricity problems could be addressed if the school also looked into investing in solar power to ensure its operations are not solely dependent on the national grid.
He said the committee also engaged with the public works and infrastructure department to find a suitable building for the veteran department’s headquarters because its lease had expired at the end of November 2018.
He added the call centre at the building was found to be fully operational “except for minor issues”.
The committee noted that it would need to meet with the veterans department to discuss broader issues that affected the department.
“The department should provide in full the problems it faces so that we can make proper recommendations,” Mmutle concluded.
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