The South African National Defence Force hails President Jacob Zuma’s announcement yesterday of salary increases for soldiers as a critical step in the journey towards improved conditions of service.
The President’s announcement of salary increases for levels two to 12, from privates to colonels, follows an intensive consultative process triggered by Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Lindiwe Sisulu’s promise to prioritise conditions of service, in her speech to parliament during the Defence budget vote, on 2 July.
“We are acutely aware that the state of readiness of the SANDF depends primarily on the morale of our soldiers. The first challenge that confronts us is a declining budget where our domestic obligations remain defined in the Constitution, against a backdrop of our growing international responsibilities, against a deteriorating infrastructure and very importantly, against a clear and pressing reality that conditions of service for the defence force need our immediate attention.
Having assessed our options, we are considering making a request for a separate dispensation for the Department of Defence that would allow us to creatively deal with our own needs and the specificities of our own unique security requirements”. Minister Sisulu, July 2009.
Addressing media in September 2009, President Zuma said.
“The SANDF may serve the public, but they are not public servants. They may receive a salary at the end of every month, but they are not ordinary workers. The high standard of behaviour we expect from them, necessitates that special attention be paid to their working conditions, their remuneration, their pensions and generally, their place in society”.
Yesterday’s pronouncement by President Zuma, that “we want to invest in the development of the defence force and the young people who are drawn into this noble calling of defending the country”, will boost morale and send the clear signal to soldiers that an era of relative military neglect is over.
Improved salaries are an important first step towards improved service conditions for soldiers. Other steps are already gathering momentum. Armed with the second report of the interim SANDF Service Commission, submitted last week, Minister Sisulu will lead a high level delegation of SANDF commanders on an inspection of military barracks across the country, starting in Cape Town and Johannesburg, tomorrow and Friday.
Negotiations between the Department of Defence and the Department of Public Works, aimed at Defence taking over responsibility for the maintenance of its buildings, are at an advanced stage.
For more information please contact:
Siphiwe Dlamini
Cell: 083 645 4294
Source: Sapa
