THURSDAY, 14 APRIL 2005
                                ____


                PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ____

The House met at 14:02.

The Speaker took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col 000.

Business suspended at 14:06 and resumed at 14:10.

The SPEAKER: [Inaudible.] … Is there sound? … We now have sound. [Applause.] Can you hear me?

HON MEMBERS: Yes.

The SPEAKER: Hon members, thank you for your patience, we will find out what went wrong and get to the bottom of it. We will then give you feedback.

The first item on the Order Paper is questions to the President. Members are reminded that they may press the “to talk” button at their desks. I do not know, after this experience, whether they work. So, if you have a problem with what is going on at your desk, just raise your hand in addition to pressing the “to talk” button in order to ask a supplementary question.

Questions and Replies – see that book.

                        MOTION OF CONDOLENCE


                    (The late Inkosi M W Hlengwa)

Mrs S A SEATON: Madam Speaker, I move the motion that has been printed on the Order Paper in the name of Mr J H van der Merwe, Chief Whip of the IFP, as follows:

That the House –

(1) notes with profound sadness the death of the honourable Inkosi Mhlabunzima Wellington Hlengwa, a former member of this House, who passed away on 15 March 2005;

(2) recognises the valuable contribution the honourable Inkosi Hlengwa made to this Parliament as a member, where he also served as the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works for a time;

(3) mourns the passing of our former colleague Inkosi Hlengwa;

4) conveys its sincere condolences to the Hlengwa family, their friends and the Inkatha Freedom Party; and

(5) wishes that they be filled with strength and fortitude in their time of sadness.

Mnu D M GUMEDE: Somlomo, inhlangano kaKhongolose ishaqeke kakhulu ukuzwa ngokukhothama kweNkosi uHlengwa obeyiphini likasotswebhu wesifundazwe saKwaZulu-Natali. OkaMashasha ubehlonishwa kakhulu ngamalungu kaKhongolose ngokuzithoba, ukuhlonipha nokuhlakanipha kwakhe. Ubehlonipha omdala ahloniphe omncane, ahloniphe osebukhosini ahloniphe abafokazana, ahloniphe azwana nabo ahloniphe angaboni ngaso linye nabo.

Ubenobuciko obuyisimmanga sokwehlukanisa isimo sakhe sobukhosi nesimo sakhe sobuqembu ngendlela yokuthi ubengubaba wesizwe, engekho ozizwa ecindezelekile ngobuqembu bakhe esimweni lapho kunzima ukwenze njalo khona. Ubengumholi oyisibonelo, onesibindi esikhulu. Ingqondo yakhe ibivulekile. Indlela ubeyithatha ngoba ekholwa ukuthi inobulungiswa, ekholwa ukuthi ineqiniso, ekholwa ukuthi ifanele.

Sikhala nomndeni wakwaMashasha, sikhale neqembu lakhe le-IFP, sikhale nesizwe sakhe eMfume, sikhale nesizwe sonkana saseNingizimu Afrika. Asilahlekelwe sodwa kodwa umhlaba wonke ulahlekelwe umholi oqotho. Yebo, isitsha esihle asidleli ngoba umsebenzi obusadinga abaholi abafana naye usemningi futhi ngineqiniso ukuthi ubezoba nesandla ekuwunqobeni.

Sithi emndenini wakwaMashasha, koMbuyisa, kubantwana bakhe, kodadewabo, kubafowabo: anikhali nodwa. Isililo senu yisililo sethu. Qinani, yimani isibindi, ningesabi! Ubengeyena ubaba wenu kuphela, ubengeyena umfowenu kuphela kepha ubengubaba wesizwe sakhe eMfume, engubaba kusishayamthetho nakuwo wonke umuntu eNingizimu Afrika. Akwehlanga lungehlanga. Owayeyilungu lale Ndlu usishiyile. Sithi kwisifundazwe saKwaZulu-Natali nakubo bonke: Nilale ngenxeba!

Wo, kufa luphi udosi lwakho na? Yebo, mhlaba kawunoni. Lala uphumule Mashasha. Lala uphumule Mbuyisa, qhawe lamaqhawe. Akumizuzu ingakanani sehlukene. Sethemba ukuthi indlela yethu sonke uyosilungisela lapho usufike khona. Hamba kahle Ndabezitha! Hamba kahle Mashasha! Hamba kahle Mbuyisa! Ngiyabonga. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of Zulu speech follows.)

[Mr D M GUMEDE: Madam Speaker, the ANC is very shocked after having received the news of the death of Inkosi Hlengwa, who was the Deputy Chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature. Mashasha was highly respected by the ANC owing to his modesty, respectful manner and wisdom. He respected adults, the youth, traditional leadership, commoners, his comrades and opponents.

He had the unique ability to distinguish between his traditional leadership and party politics and acted in a fatherly manner towards the people, and nobody felt oppressed because of his partisanship. Even under difficult conditions, he maintained the same position. He was a leader who led by example. He was very brave and open-minded. He would take a decision that he believed was fair, frank and proper.

We convey our condolences to the Mashasha family, the IFP, his people at Mfume and South Africa as a whole. We did not suffer this loss alone, but the whole world has also suffered by losing such a leader of quality. We agree, quality does not stay long. There is still a lot of work to be done, particularly by leaders of his quality and disposition, and I am certain that he was going to make a contribution towards its completion.

To the family of Mashasha, the Mbuyisas, his children, his sisters and brothers, we say: You do not grieve alone. Your lament is our lament; be consoled, be brave and do not fear. He was not a father or a brother to you alone, but also to his people of Mfume. He was also a father of the Legislature and all South Africans. God has given and God has taken. A member of this House has passed away. We express our heartfelt condolences to the province and everyone.

Woe, death, where is thy sting? Of course, death is persistent. Rest in peace Mashasha, hero of heroes. We parted ways recently; however, we hope that he will pave the way for all of us. Rest in peace, Ndabezitha! Rest in peace, Mashasha! Rest in peace, Mbuyisa! Thank you. [Applause.]]

Mr W J SEREMANE: Madam Speaker, the DA wishes to associate itself with the motion of condolence concerning our late colleague Inkosi Mhlabunzima Hlengwa. It is very sad that at a relatively young age our colleague has left us. During his lifetime he occupied various posts of authority such as being the Inkosi of the Thoyana traditional authority. He was an active and loyal member of the Inkatha Freedom Party trusted by the members and the leadership. We definitely do not doubt that.

Inkosi Hlengwa performed important work for his community, the province of KwaZulu-Natal and our country. He was a loving, firm but accessible person. We convey the sympathies of the DA to his loved ones, the relatives of our departed colleague and the IFP. We will always remember him.

A mowa wa motlhanka wa gago o robale ka kagiso. [May the soul of your servant rest in peace.]

Mnu G T MADIKIZA: Sihlalo, abaPhathiswa abahloniphekileyo abalapha, amalungu ahloniphekileyo ale Ndlu yowisomthetho, ndime apha egameni le UDM, ukugxwala emswaneni kunye nosapho lakwaHlengwa, ubukhosi bakwaZulu, iqela lezopolitiko leNkatha kaZulu, iPalamente yoMzantsi Afrika kwakunye neyephondo lakwaZulu ngokubanzi.

uNkosi uHlengwa andimazi ebusweni, kodwa ngezenzo ndiyamazi. uMntwanenkosi lo ibe ingumntu wabantu obethanda inkqubela. Loo nto ibonakele ngokuba afunde ayekuqabela kwimatriki. Inkosi, ngokwela xesha labo, imfundo ibingeyonto ziyinakileyo zona kuqala, kunye nabo zibakhokeleyo, kodwa yena ebengenguwo loo mfanekiso.

Izingqi zakhe zivakele kwinqila yakhe xa wayekho ncakasana eququzelela ukuba kufakwe umbane kunye namanzi. Babuvile ubunkokheli bakhe kwinqila ebengusihlalo kuyo yengingqi yaseMbumbulu. Ukanti ilizwi lakhe livakele, ebelilumkisa, lifundisa ngesifo ugawulayo kwiNdlu yeenkosi phaya Kwazulu- Natal. Nale iNdlu sikuyo siyeva ukuba ike yawongeka bubukho bakhe phakathi kwayo phakathi kweminyaka yowe-1994 ukuyakutsho kowama-2004. Bayamazi ke abaninzi.

Lithi ilizwi lobulumko, Isitya esihle asidleli. Kusapho lwakhe kwiiNkosi zomthonyama kwaZulu, kumalungu aleNdlu yowisomthetho apha kuNdlu-nkulu nakwiphondo, koogxa bakhe kwiNkatha sithi, Akuhlanga lungehlanga. Lalani ngenxeba. Umphefumlo wakhe ulale ngoxolo. Ndiyabulela. (Translation of Xhosa speech follows.)

[Mr G T MADIKIZA: Madam Speaker, hon Ministers present here, hon members of the National Assembly, I am standing here in the name of the UDM to grieve together with the Hlengwa family, the Zulu royalty, the Inkatha Freedom Party of KwaZulu, the South African Parliament and the Provincial Legislature of KwaZulu-Natal at large.

I did not know Inkosi Hlengwa in person, but I know his works. This Inkosi was a sociable person who liked progress. That is indicated by the fact that he attended school and matriculated. During their time, chiefs were the first people who could not be bothered about education, and then their subjects would do likewise. But he did not set that example.

His region benefited from his efforts when he was personally present to organise the installation of water and electricity. They felt his leadership in his region in the Mbumbulu area, where he was a chairperson. And his voice was heard advising and educating about HIV/Aids in the House of Traditional Leaders in KwaZulu-Natal. Even this House we are in, we hear, was once honoured by his presence between the years 1994 and 2004. Many knew him then.

Words of wisdom say: “Good things do not last.” To his family, the traditional leaders of KwaZulu-Natal, the members of the National Assembly and of the Provincial Legislature, and his colleagues in the Inkatha Freedom Party we say: What happened, happens to everybody. Be comforted and consoled. May his soul rest in peace. Thank you.]

Mr L W GREYLING: Madam Speaker, the Independent Democrats shares the sentiments of this House with regard to the death of the hon Inkosi Hlengwa. Hon Hlengwa made a valuable contribution to this Parliament not only as a member but also as a Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works.

As a young parliamentarian serving my first term, I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to people such as the hon Inkosi Hlengwa who played a vital role in laying the foundation for our democracy and building this Parliament into the vibrant institution it is today.

The ID would therefore like to convey its sincere condolences to the Hlengwa family, as well as the IFP who have sadly lost a trusted colleague.

Mnr S SIMMONS: Mevrou die Adjunkspeaker, die NNP wil hiermee ook sy medelye en simpatie betoon met die afsterwe van Inkosi Hlengwa, Adjunkspeaker van KwaZulu-Natal se wetgewer, en voorheen ook lid van dié Parlement.

Hy het geglo dat die vermoë van die verskillende politieke partye om ook saam te werk, ten spyte van hul onderliggende verskille, een van die mylpale was wat die Parlement binne 10 jaar bereik het. Sy kollegas in die wetgewer praat met groot lof van sy toewyding en sy betrokkenheid by die gemeenskap en dat hy hom veral toegespits het op die impak van MIV/Vigs – eienskappe wat toon dat hy sy medemens en die gemeenskap eerste geplaas het. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Mr S SIMMONS: Madam Deputy Speaker, with this the NNP also wants to convey its condolences and sympathy on the passing away of Inkosi Hlengwa, Deputy Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, and previously also a member of this Parliament.

He believed that the ability of different political parties also to work together, in spite of their underlying differences, was one of the milestones that Parliament had achieved within 10 years. His colleagues in the Legislature speak with great praise of his dedication to and involvement in the community and the fact that he concentrated in particular on the impact of HIV/Aids - qualities that show that he put his fellow man and the community first.]

On behalf of the NNP, I would like to express our sympathy and condolences to Inkosi Hlengwa’s family, loved ones and colleagues in the IFP.

Rev M S KHUMALO: Hon Deputy Speaker, Ministers and members, the ACDP expresses its deepest sympathy with the family of the late Inkosi Mhlabunzima Wellington Hlengwa. We also convey our heartfelt condolences to the KZN parliament and the IFP.

Inkosi Hlengwa was committed to community development. He was a part of that elite group of politicians who could strike a clear balance between issues of public interest and issues of party interest. In pursuance of his duties he frequently exercised a degree of impartiality, required by the office he held.

The late Inkosi Hlengwa will be remembered as a peace lover, a firebrand, a man of wisdom, who was guided by his traditional, ethical values, and who made a solid and lasting contribution to building a peaceful society in KwaZulu-Natal.

I-ACDP idlulisa ukuzwelana kwayo nomndeni weNkosi uHlengwa ekhotheme ngomhla ka-15 Mashi kulo nyaka. Sengathi uNkulunkulu angaduduza umndeni, isizwe senkosi nabakhele indawo yenkosi. Sithi akwehlanga lungehlanga. (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)

[The ACDP would like to convey its condolences to the family of Inkosi Hlengwa, who passed away on 15 March this year. May God comfort the family, the tribe of Inkosi and the residence. God has given, God has taken.]

Dr C P MULDER: Hon Deputy Speaker, it’s an honour and a privilege for me, on behalf of the FF Plus, to express our unequivocal support for the motion of condolence for the late Inkosi Hlengwa before the House. The honourable former member of this House was a senior member of the IFP, and from our side we would like to express our appreciation for the role that he played, not only in this Parliament and in his province, but also within his own party.

On a personal note, the honourable Inkosi Hlengwa was a very devoted sportsperson. At some stage during an overseas visit he told a colleague of mine about all the things that he had been doing to take sport further within his own community, even sponsoring soccer jerseys for the young ones to make them more interested in sport. That was the kind of person he was.

Adjunkspeaker, ek wil graag namens die VF Plus ons meelewing oordra aan sy gesin, dit is vir hulle ’n moeilike tyd. Hulle het ’n vader en ’n oupa verloor, en ons wil die vertroue uitspreek dat hulle vertroosting sal vind na die afsterwe van ’n geliefde. Ons meelewing gaan ook na die IVP as ’n party. Baie dankie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[Deputy Speaker, on behalf of the FF Plus I would like to convey our sympathy to his family. This is a difficult time for them. They have lost a father and a grandfather, and we hope and trust that they will find consolation after the passing away of a loved one. We also convey our sympathy to the IFP as a party. Thank you very much.]

Mr I S MFUNDISI: Deputy Speaker and hon members, I consider myself fortunate that I came to meet and know Inkosi Mhlabunzima Hlengwa, while he served in Parliament representing the IFP. He came across as a man with a quiet and affable disposition; he did not have any airs as someone of royalty. He was simple and down to earth. I came to know Inkosi Hlengwa more closely in 2002 during the three or so weeks that we spent in Zimbabwe, observing the presidential elections. I was in the same group as him, and we were deployed in the Mashonaland West province where there are many traditional leaders. He showed how he could ably adapt to any situation. He showed great passion in engaging traditional leaders there, alongside the rank-and-file members of the community.

The other side of this Inkosi was that he was very fond of music. He never ceased to hum lyrics of the great Mtukuzi. Inkosi Hlengwa was a traditional leader, but quite amenable to change. I shall always remember how he, on more than one occasion, in his characteristic dry humour, quipped by saying that his party, the IFP, was not faring well in the elections in KwaZulu- Natal, because their own members, during the election time, removed posters bearing the picture of the leader of the party, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, saying they cannot leave uMntwana waKwaPhindangene to be exposed to cold and rain, while they were enjoying warmth in their houses, oblivious of the fact they were causing the party to lose the elections. [Laughter.]

Inkosi Hlengwa will always be remembered with fondness. The UCDP supports the motion of condolence to his family, his tribe, the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature – where he died in harness – and also, finally, the IFP. May his soul rest in peace.

Mr M T LIKOTSI: Madam Deputy Speaker, the PAC of Azania also wishes to extend words of comfort and sympathy to the family of the late Inkosi Hlengwa his political party, the IFP; the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, where he served in this House as an hon member, and as the chairperson for the Portfolio Committee on Public Works, in the past his constituency in the KZN province, and the entire nation he served. We wish them heavenly strength in this time of sorrow.

Ka sehaeso re re; “Morena ha a shwe, o phomotse.” Morena o sebeditse, o phethile thomo ya badimo le Modimo. Morena a re dumedisetse ho baholo ba rona, a re kopele nala le kgora. Re re pula le kgotso setjhabeng sa maAforika. Lefu ke ngwetsi ya malapa ohle. (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)

[In our culture we say; “The king never dies, but has rested.” The king worked, he has run the ancestors’ and God’s errands. May the king pass our greetings to our elders, and request prosperity for us. We say let there be rain and peace for Africans. Death knows no colour or creed.]

Thank you.

Mr R B BHOOLA: Madam Deputy Speaker, hon members, on behalf of the MF, I take this opportunity in extending our deepest regret and condolences on the death of the gallant and dedicated former member of Parliament, the hon Inkosi Hlengwa. There are many sorrows in life and one sorrow no one would like to experience is the sorrow of death.

Our sincere condolences are extended to the bereaved family, friends, loved ones and the IFP, which has lost an astounding pioneer to the cause. To the late hon Inkosi Hlengwa who passed away peacefully: May you rest in peace. Knowing that you have represented, served and dedicated yourself to the will of the people, the loving memory of all your efforts shall forever rest in the history of our nation and your inspiring example shall be followed by your members and comrades in decades to come. May God bless you and may you rest in peace. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mr P J NEFOLOVHODWE: Madam Deputy Speaker, although I didn’t meet the hon Hlengwa and talk to him, from what is being related to me, he was indeed a progressive traditional leader. What we noticed is that he was prepared to work with his people and to listen to others. For that matter, indeed the IFP has lost a leader and a dedicated soldier in the struggle for traditional leadership and the maintenance of our culture.

On behalf of Azapo, we wish to convey our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the hon Hlengwa’s family and friends. Azapo wishes to join the IFP and all those who knew Inkosi Hlengwa in saluting his contribution to the country and its people. May God give his family the strength and the power to see them through this mourning period. In my mother tongue, we say:

Khosi yo tshimbila – yo tuwa. Vhamusanda vho nenga. [The King is gone – he has left. The Chief has disappeared.]

We say so because there is a belief that people like Inkosi Hlengwa merely disappear. They are not dead. I thank you.

Mnu V B NDLOVU: Sekela Somlomo, abahlonishwa abakhona nendlu ehloniphekile, malunga ahloniphekile, inkosi yakwaThoyana yayizalwa umama uMaNgcobo enkosini endala eyakhothama, inkosi u-Charles ‘Small bhodlela’ Bhoyi Hlengwa. Babebahlanu kwabo kungodadewabo abathathu naye kanye nomfowabo. Basekhona bonke laba abanye kanti nomama wayo inkosi usekhona. Inkosi ifunde yaze yayoqedela ukufunda kwayo eBhekuzulu College okwakuyisikole esasiqeqesha abafana bamakhosi ukuba balungele ukuthatha izikhundla zabo zokuzalwa.

Inkosi ibiganwe amakhosokazi amabili okunguMakhawula kanye noMaMngomezulu. Ngeshwa uMaMngomezulu wedlula emhlabeni kuqala ngaphambi kokuthi inkosi ikhothame. Inkosi ibisithanda isizwe sayo futhi ibibuthanda ubuZulu namasiko akhona. Ibihlonipha kakhulu inkosi, ingumuntu okhulumela phansi futhi ingayithandi ingxabano. Kodwa bekuthi uma isidiniwe iphume ihambe ishiye phansi yonke into eyenzeka lapho iqonde ekhaya kumama wayo. Ibimthanda futhi imkhonzile kakhulu umama wayo uMaNgcobo.

Inkosi yakwaHlengwa yabekwa ebukhosini ubaba wenkosi nohulumeni wakwaZulu omdala inkosi isaphila ukuba yenze umsebenzi wayo. Inkosi yayimbekele ukuba imfundise lokho ebona ukuthi kuhlakaniphile isekhona. Wayeze athi ubaba wakhe ekhuluma naye nathi sikhona nje sonke njengabantu ekade bengababngani, akobalalela bonke abantu uma bekhuluma noma ngabe balishumi kodwa akophendula ababili. Impendulo yakhe ibenele bonke abantu, angabaphenduli bonke ngoba kukhona nababhedayo. Lokho kakushiwo inkosi esiyakhothama, ubaba wenkosi. [Uhleko.]

Iqembu leNkatha yenkululeko lilahlekelwe kakhulu ngokukhothama kwenkosi yakwaThoyana. Umnikelo wakhe ubujulile kunoma yini okuthiwa akayenze kanjalo futhi nakuleyo futhi ezenzela yona ngokwakhe. Ilahlekelwe indlu yamakhosi esifundazweni saKwaZulu-Natali ngeqhaza abelibambile kanye namakomidi abewahola khona, ikakhulukazi ikomidi lamakhosi ebelibhekene ne- HIV/Aids.

INkatha ilahlekelwe umxhumanisi nomlamuli woqobo. Ubulungu bakhe kumhlahlandlela wethu eNkatheni buzokhumbuleka ngenxa yolwazi lwakhe olunzulu lokubeka izinto ngobonono abenalo. Kuhambe inkosi ebilithanda iqiniso futhi ebifuna likhulunywe linjalo noma ngabe libuhlungu noma linjani. Ngisho ngabe bekuthiwa akathandaze, ubethandaza akubeke ngqo afuna kwenziwe kulowo mhlangano futhi akusho njengoba kunjalo ngobunono nangomoya ophansi wokuthobeka. Isishayamthetho sesifunda silahlekelwe ngoba ubengakawavezi onke amakhono akhe kodwa bekukhona akuthintileyo.

INkatha yenkululeko ibonga umndeni wakwaHlengwa ngoyizalela insizwa ezinsizweni nendoda emadodeni. Sibonga kubaba wayo inkosi ukuthi wayikhulisa kahle, yabazi abantu futhi yabathanda yaphinda yazi nesizwe sayo yasithanda futhi yase yazisa nobuzwe bayo nabo yabuthanda ngokunjalo. Sibonga inkosi uqobo lwayo, inkosi uMhlabunzima Wellington Hlengwa, ngokuba yilungu elethembekile kwaze kwaba sekugcineni eqenjini lethu leNkatha yenkululeko. Kwakuthi noma isinikwe izikhundla ezinkulu ezinamandla kodwa ingadlali ngamandla azo.

Thina beNkatha yenkululeko sobonga kakhulu uhulumeni oholwa uMongameli ngokuhlonipha inkosi njengoba kade ibiwuSihlalo weKomidi lezoMnyango wezoMsebenzi woMphakathi kusukela ngo-1999 kuya ku-2004. Sibonga kakhulu futhi nakuNdunankulu wesifunda nesifunda ukuba bahloniphe isikhundla senkosi njengoba kade inguSomlomo kwisishayamthetho sesifundazwe saKwaZulu- Natali. Umfihlo waba nesizotha esiwufanele inkosi futhi ngiyethemba nenkosi lapho ikhona yathokoza kakhulu.

Okokugcina sibonga kakhulu kuzo zonke izikhulumi ezakhuluma emfihlweni wenkosi kusukela esikhulumeni sokuqala okwaba umholi weqembu leNkatha yenkululeko uMntwana wakwaPhindangene, kwaba uNdunankulu wesifundazwe kwase kuzoba iSekela likaMongameli. ISekela likaMongameli lakhuluma lahlaziya yonke into ekade inkosi isebenza ngaphansi kwayo yelekelelwa noma ithunywa ubuholi beqembu leNkatha yenkululeko kanye namakhosi njengesikhundla sayo. Hamba kahle Mashasha! Hamba kahle mfoka “Small bhodlela”! Hamba kahle nkosi yesizwe, Mbuyisa! Siyathokoza. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of Zulu speech follows.)

[Mr V B NDLOVU: Deputy Speaker, dignitaries present and the hon House at large, hon members, Inkosi of kwaThoyana born of the queen née Ngcobo from the late Inkosi, Charles ‘Small bhodlela’ Bhoyi Hlengwa had four siblings - three sisters and a brother. Inkosi is survived by all his siblings and his mother. Inkosi went to school and completed his education at Bhekuzulu College, which was the school aimed at training the boys born of amakhosi so that they could be ready to take up their inherited positions.

Inkosi was married and had two wives in the ladies whose maiden names were Khawula and Mngomezulu, respectively. Sadly, the lady whose maiden name was Mngomezulu passed away before Inkosi could pass on. Inkosi loved his people and he loved the Zulu people and its culture. Inkosi was a humble person, a soft-spoken person who did not like bickering. However, when Inkosi was cross about something he would simply stage a walkout and go straight home to his mother. He dearly loved his mother, MaNgcobo.

Inkosi Hlengwa was inaugurated in chieftainship to do his work by his father, who was still alive, and the then KwaZulu government. The father of Inkosi inaugurated him when he was still alive so that he could teach Inkosi what he felt was wise whilst he was still alive. I want to tell everyone present as his friends that his father would tell him that he should listen to all people talking, even if there were ten people, but simply answer two of those. His answer in turn should satisfy them all, and he should not answer them individually because some of them may be talking nonsense. This was said by the late Inkosi, the father of Inkosi. [Laughter.]

The Inkatha Freedom Party has lost dearly by the death of the Inkosi of KwaThoyana. He was immensely dedicated in everything he was tasked to do, even if he was doing it of his own volition. The House of Traditional Leaders in KwaZulu-Natal has lost dearly because of the role he was playing in all of the committees he was leading, and more especially the committee of amakhosi dealing with HIV/Aids.

The IFP has lost a communicator and a real arbitrator. His membership in the National Council of the IFP will be sadly missed because of his depth of knowledge of putting things in a gentle way. We have lost Inkosi, who loved the truth and who wanted it to be told no matter how painful it may be. Even if he was called upon to pray, he would directly recite in his prayers what he would want to be done in that particular meeting and he would gently say it in a very humble way. The Provincial Legislature has lost because he had not shown all his talents, although he somehow displayed some of them.

The Inkatha Freedom Party thanks the Hlengwa family for having given birth to a gentleman amongst gentlemen and a man amongst men. We thank the father of Inkosi for having reared him very well, so that he grew up knowing and loving his people and the other people in general; he also loved his citizenship to boot. We thank the Inkosi himself, Inkosi Mhlabunzima Wellington Hlengwa, for being an honest member of the Inkatha Freedom Party until the end. He would not even abuse his powers when he was given high positions.

We in the Inkatha Freedom Party sincerely thank this government, led by the President, for honouring the Inkosi with the position of being the Chairperson of the Public Works Committee from 1999 to 2004. We also thank the Premier of the province and the province for bestowing on the Inkosi the position of the Provincial Speaker in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature. His funeral was a dignified one worthy of Inkosi and I hope that Inkosi was also very pleased wherever he is.

Finally, we are greatly indebted to all the speakers who spoke at the funeral of Inkosi. The first speaker was the leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, the Prince of KwaPhindangene, next was the Premier of the province and then it was the Deputy President. The Deputy President analysed every capacity in which Inkosi had been working, having been assisted or sent by the Inkatha Freedom Party and amakhosi. Rest in peace, Mashasha! Rest in peace, son of “Small bhodlela”! Rest in peace, nkosi of the nation, Mbuyisa! We thank you. [Applause.]]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, hon members. I take it that there are no objections to the adoption of the motion. The condolences of the House will be conveyed to the Hlengwa family.

Debate concluded.

Motion agreed to.

CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST FOR APPROVAL BY PARLIAMENT OF DRAFT NOTICE FOR DECLARATION OF AMNESTY IN TERMS OF FIREARMS CONTROL ACT

There was no debate.

Government Notice No 27441 published in the Government Gazette of 31 March 2005 in regard to the declaration of an amnesty in terms of section 139(2)(a) of the Firearms Control Act, 2000, approved. The House adjourned at 16:32. ____

            ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

National Assembly

1. The Speaker

 A letter was received from the Minister for Safety and Security on 13
 April 2005, requesting Parliament’s approval of a notice, published in
 the Gazette of 31 March 2005, of a declaration of amnesty for the
 period 1 April 2005 until 30 June 2005 in terms of section 139(2)(a) of
 the Firearms Control Act, 2000 (Act No 60 of 2000).

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Transport

 Report and Financial Statements of the Road Accident Fund for 2003-
 2004, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial
 Statements for 2003-2004 [RP 33-2005].

1. The Minister of Social Development

 Report and Financial Statements of the National Development Agency
 (NDA) for 2003-2004, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the
 Financial Statements for 2003-2004 [RP 157-2004].

National Assembly

1. The Speaker

 Petition received from Ms D van der Walt, MP against name change of
 Pretoria.


 Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

National Assembly

1. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development on the Desirability of the Restoration to the Office of Magistrate Mr PP Mkalipi, dated 13 April 2005:

   The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, having considered the report on the suspension from office of magistrate PP Mkalipi, tabled by the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development in terms of section 13(4)(b) of the Magistrates Act, 1993 (Act 90 of 1993), reports as follows:

   1) The Portfolio Committee noted from the report that the Magistrates Commission recommended that Mr Mkalipi be removed from the office of magistrate on account of incapacity to carry out the duties of his office efficiently.

   2) The Portfolio Committee invited Mr Mkalipi to submit written representations to the Committee regarding the recommendation of the Magistrates Commission. Mr Mkalipi responded by indicating that he is ready to take up the office of magistrate again.

   3) The Portfolio Committee noted that the report and the documents submitted in terms of the relevant regulations bear ample evidence that Mr Mkalipi is incapable of carrying out the duties of his office efficiently. There are numerous instances where case records kept by Mr Mkalipi were incomplete and/or reflected gross irregularities. Uncontested evidence exists that he committed gross procedural irregularities on numerous occasions and that he failed to furnish reasons for convictions and sentences on review or appeal in certain instances. Other uncontested evidence relates to non-observance of official hours, lack of discipline, inadequate knowledge of civil adjudication and being inebriated whilst on official duty.

   4) In terms of section 13(4) (c ) of the Magistrates Act, 1993, Parliament must, as soon as is reasonably possible, pass a resolution as to whether or not the restoration of Mr Mkalipi to the office of magistrate is recommended. The Portfolio Committee is of the opinion that there is no reason why the recommendation by the Magistrates Commission, namely that Mr Mkalipi should be removed from the office of magistrate, should not be followed and accordingly recommends that the House resolve that Mr Mkalipi not be restored to the office of magistrate.

Report to be considered.

1. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development on the Desirability of the Restoration to the Office of Magistrate Mr PW Phiri, dated 13 April 2005:

   The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, having considered the report on the suspension from office of magistrate PW Phiri, tabled by the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development in terms of section 13(4)(b) of the Magistrates Act, 1993 (Act 90 of 1993), reports as follows:

   1) The Portfolio Committee noted from the report that the Magistrates Commission recommended that Mr Phiri be removed from the office of magistrate on account of incapacity to carry out the duties of his office efficiently.

   2) The Portfolio Committee invited Mr Phiri to submit written representations to the Committee regarding the recommendation of the Magistrates Commission. The Committee did not receive any response to the invitation.

   3) The Portfolio Committee noted that the report and the documents submitted in terms of the relevant regulations bear ample evidence that Mr Phiri is incapable of carrying out the duties of his office efficiently. Mr Phiri repeatedly failed to send reviewable cases to the High Court timeously and repeatedly failed to respond to various queries by reviewing judges, resulting in failures of justice and causing prejudice to the accused persons concerned. He pleaded guilty to three charges of misconduct in this respect. His performance on the bench disclosed numerous, serious and profound irregularities. Numerous cases over which Mr Phiri presided had to be sent on special review and serious procedural irregularities were detected. Individual and formal training, guidance and counseling failed to achieve the desired effect and Mr Phiri repeatedly made the same mistakes and failed to adhere to time limits.

   4) In terms of section 13(4) (c ) of the Magistrates Act, 1993, Parliament must, as soon as is reasonably possible, pass a resolution as to whether or not the restoration of Mr Phiri to the office of magistrate is recommended. The Portfolio Committee is of the opinion that there is no reason why the recommendation by the Magistrates Commission, namely that Mr Phiri should be removed from the office of magistrate, should not be followed and accordingly recommends that the House resolve that Mr Phiri not be restored to the office of magistrate.

Report to be considered.

1. The Portfolio Committee on Defence, having undertaken an oversight visit to the Military Academy at Saldanha on 19 January 2005, reports as follows:

Table of Contents

1. Preface
2. Introduction
3. The Military Academy: Past, present and Future
4. Findings
5. Conclusion and Recommendations
6. Appendix 1 (Committee delegation)
7. Appendix 2 (Military Academy delegation)

8. Appendix 3 (Military Academy Demographic Profile)

9. Preface

10. Strategic Environment

Democratic South Africa occupies a unique position within the crucible of African efforts to eradicate poverty, promote sustainable growth and development, and bring peace to our war-ravaged continent. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development gives impulse to such initiatives, as do peace support operations undertaken by the African Union in partnership with the United Nations. South Africa plays a leading role in these efforts, having committed major political, economic and military resources to African renewal. Our obligations along these lines are likely to increase in the years ahead.

This is the continental starting point for considering the report by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence concerning the South African Military Academy at Saldanha. The assessment and recommendations of the Committee form part of its oversight of the Department of Defence and its associated institutions. Like all its work, this report is meant to promote and advance the ability of the Department, and the bodies that fall under its authority, to meet their constitutional obligations.

The South African Military Academy is a pivotal institution. Its principal function is to educate and train the officer corps of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). The Constitution defines the primary objectives of the SANDF as follows: “to defend and protect the Republic, its territorial integrity and its people in accordance with the Constitution and the principles of international law regulating the use of force”.

The SANDF must be able to live up to these historic tasks in an epoch that has come to be defined by the rapid and unpredictable consequences of globalisation, and by new political, economic and military challenges in world affairs.

For the Academy, this implies an obligation to equip the officer corps with a set of finely honed intellectual and military skills. Yet at the same time, the institution must make demonstrable progress along the road of transformation, so that talented young South Africans of all backgrounds will choose to attend the Academy for its academic excellence. South Africa needs an officer corps with the utmost flexibility in the 21st century – an officer corps that understands the changing nature of the work of the SANDF and the global environment. The functioning and outlook of this officer corps must be rooted in the Constitution, and it must understand and be able to relate to the diverse cultures that characterise our country, our continent and our planet.

Lt General (ret) Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian commander of the United Nations mission in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide, and who has considerable experience in staff training, made similar points during a recent visit to South Africa. Dallaire emphasised that modern officer corps must be sensitive to a range of cultural, social and psychological factors in relation to their subordinates and in the field of operations – especially in peacekeeping missions abroad.

Moreover, in the context of increased collaboration within the African Union, and the principle that Africa cannot depend on outside powers, the Military Academy must become a first-class institution that is the centre for officer training in Africa. The Academy should function as a continental magnet for young officers in training, who are attracted to the Academy not only for its academic excellence and military competence, but also because it is a reflection of democratic South Africa and our commitment to democracy, peace and the full development of Africa.

At the outset, the Committee must state that it was impressed by the determination of a great many people associated with the Military Academy – officers, faculty, staff and students – to transform this institution, which was once a cog in the machinery of white minority rule, into a first- class academy of higher learning worthy of our constitutional, non-racial democracy.

1.2 Leadership and Transformation

The Committee firmly agrees that the Academy needs to be transformed. However, the challenge remains the specific manner of change and the extent to which it provides further grounds for development.

Transformation is not limited solely to numbers and representivity. It also embraces an ethos and values reflecting an entirely different set of assumptions to those held under apartheid, including openness, transparency, equality and justice.

What is described in a document prepared by the University of Witwatersrand in 1998 is applicable to all higher education institutions, where it is said that: “transformation is not an end in itself, but a process that leads us to achieve our goal of participative democracy, accountability, responsibility and transparency”.

What is to be achieved from transformation is best articulated by the Department of Education’s White Paper on Higher Education, which describes the aim of transformation vividly:

  South  Africa’s  transition  from  apartheid  and  minority  rule   to
  democracy requires  that  all  existing  practices,  institutions  and
  values are viewed anew and rethought in terms of their fitness for the
  new era. Higher education plays a central role in the social, cultural
  and economic development of modern societies. In South  Africa  today,
  the challenge is to redress past inequalities  and  to  transform  the
  higher education system to serve a new social order, to meet  pressing
  national needs, and to respond to new realities and opportunities.  It
  must lay the foundations for the development  of  a  learning  society
  which can stimulate, direct and mobilise the creative and intellectual
  energies  of  all  the  people  towards  meeting  the   challenge   of
  reconstruction and development.

It is clear to the Committee that the majority of the management, faculty, staff and students support transformation. The key, then, is leadership, applied with vision, sensitivity and care. Such leadership must take cognisance of the fact that the Academy is unlike any other higher education institution in South Africa because it serves a dual purpose: one academic, as part of the University of Stellenbosch; the other military, as a unit of the SANDF.

After considering all these factors, and following a site visit and reviewing additional documentation, the Committee strongly believes that the approach taken at the Military Academy does not meet the needs of South Africa’s officer training corps, and as a result neither the military nor the academic side of this duality is being adequately served in the interests of the nation.

The Committee’s findings are listed in Section 4 of this report; its conclusions and recommendations in Section 5. Key points include the following:

• The Academy has reached a critical turning point;
• There is confusion over the core business  of  the  Academy,  and  the
  appropriate academic balance has not been adequately struck;
• A rehabilitative process needs to be initiated that will  involve  the
  Academy’s management, the Department of Defence and the University  of
  Stellenbosch.  Such  a  review  will  have  to  examine  the  required
  leadership qualifications for the Academy, appropriate funding  levels
  and the need to upgrade curriculum development;
• This process must also examine the output of the Academy, and  find  a
  cost-effective model that serves the long-term needs of the four  arms
  of the SANDF;
• The Academy should not be run on a strictly militaristic basis. It  is
  a staff training college, not a military finishing school;
• Lengthy delays in filling academic posts harm students and  must  come
  to an end;
• The Academy has made some progress with regard to  representivity.  It
  can help speed  this  process  by  implementing  a  staff  development
  programme for blacks that includes systematic mentoring; and
• The physical infrastructure of the Academy needs to be upgraded.

1. Introduction

2. Basis of report

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence presents this report in the context of the oversight role assigned to the National Assembly by the Constitution.

The Committee conducted a visit to the South African Military Academy on 19 January 2005 as part of its oversight and monitoring of the Department of Defence, the SANDF and their institutions. Portfolio Committee Chairperson Professor Kader Asmal headed the delegation. A full list of the delegation members is provided in Appendix 1. The delegation met with officials from the Academy’s management team (see Appendix 2) and held meetings with University of Stellenbosch faculty, Academy staff and students. The delegation also toured the facilities.

The report is based on this visit, and also draws on additional correspondence and documents made available to the Committee. 2.2 Objectives of visit

In addition to the aforementioned exercise of the Committee’s constitutionally mandated oversight role, and within the framework of the constitutional imperatives of transformation, affirmative action and employment equity, good governance, delivery, accountability and non- racialism, the delegation had the following objectives:

• To  ascertain  the  quality  of  education  and  the  content  of  the
  curriculum offered by the Military Academy to its  students,  and  its
  subsequent effect on the development of the SANDF officer corps;
•  To  find  out  about  the  foundations  of  the  Academy’s   training
  programmes;
• To learn about the composition of the staff and their  qualifications,
  as well as the type of research produced by the Academy;
• To determine the state of student and staff relations; and
• To investigate whether the Academy reflects South  Africa’s  democracy
  and demographics.

2.3 Board of Inquiry

This report does not attempt to duplicate the work of the Board of Inquiry, appointed by the Minister of Defence, which is examining allegations of racism and violence at the Military Academy. The Committee awaits the Board of Inquiry’s conclusions, but in consonance with the oversight role vested in Parliament by the Constitution, it is obligated to proceed with its report and findings.

1. The Military Academy: Past, Present and Future

3.1 The Academy in the Past

The Military Academy was established in 1950 under the auspices of the University of Pretoria as a branch of the SA Military College. According to material on its website, it was created as a traditional military academy, based to some degree on the model of the United States Military Academy at West Point. This seems rather far-fetched. In the mid-1950s it was placed under the trusteeship of the University of Stellenbosch, and subsequently moved from Voortrekkerhoogte (now Thaba Tshwane) to its present location at Saldanha. In January 1961 the Academy became the Faculty of Military Science of the University of Stellenbosch.

The Academy was an institution rooted in the apartheid ethos and served the needs of the apartheid state. As such, it remained an exclusively white, male entity until 1978 when the first three white female students were admitted – a decision suspended the very next year “due to lack of suitable accommodation”. The first Coloured student was admitted in 1979. It was only in 1991 that female students, and the first African students, were admitted to the Academy.

The Academy has registered some progress in terms of demographic transformation (see Appendix 3). However, a great deal more remains to be accomplished. Progress in this area cannot be separated from the ability of the Academy to function as a centre of academic and military excellence. We discuss this further under Findings.

3.2 The Academy Today It is stated that the Academy’s purpose is to elevate education of Permanent Force (sic) cadets to the level of baccalaureate in the Natural or Human Sciences, and to provide the SANDF with a competent, highly professional officer corps. Apart from their academic studies, students at the Academy also continue their normal military training as cadets.

The existing agreement between the Department of Defence and the University of Stellenbosch states: “The Military Academy is a military unit of the Department and is under the military command of a Commanding Officer. The Faculty of Military Science, in terms of the Private Law on the University of Stellenbosch (Volksraad), 1992, is a faculty of the University that is accommodated by the Military Academy.”

What follows in this section are brief summaries of presentations made to the Committee during its oversight visit to the Academy, along with a discussion of correspondence made available to the Committee following the visit.

3.2.1 Meeting with Management

In its meeting with the Committee, the Academy’s management team identified its vision as follows: To be the leader in professional military education in Africa, and in so doing to empower the African security community to manage current and future security challenges effectively.

Goals, strategies and objectives identified by the management include:

• Ensuring relevance of the Academy’s core business;
• Ensuring representivity;
• Pursuing an international academic stature;
•  Capturing  the  African  market  (sic)  for   professional   military
  education;
• Marketing the Academy;
• Integrating the Academy with the education, training  and  development
  system of the Department of Defence; and
• Developing an integrated academic military professional curriculum  in
  accordance with the needs of the various services.

Challenges identified by the management:

• Transformation and representivity;
• Criminal activity;
• Supplies;
• Staff morale;
• Funding for research, guest speakers and international conferences;
• Filling of vacant posts; and
• The language policy of the University of Stellenbosch and the Academy.

Apart from physical conditions, the Commandant stated that everything at the Academy was “hunky dory”.

3.2.2 Meeting with University of Stellenbosch Faculty Programme

In their meeting with the Committee delegation, University of Stellenbosch Faculty Programme members identified the following as key issues:

• Transformation and employment equity;
• The University policy of promoting Afrikaans, while  the  majority  of
  the Academy’s students do not speak Afrikaans as a first language  (In
  terms  of  the  agreement  between  Stellenbosch  University  and  the
  Department, English  is  the  medium  of  instruction  for  programmes
  falling under the Faculty of Military Science);
• The University’s  role  as  a  guarantor  of  academic,  teaching  and
  research development, support and excellence;
• The University’s role in the development of the academic curriculum;
• The faculty’s role in the appointment and selection of students;
• The University has committed itself to ensuring that by 2006,  25%  of
  professors would be black or women (35% by 2012), but no coherent plan
  was put before the Committee;
• The University is  committed  to  maintaining  and  strengthening  its
  relationship with the  Department  of  Defence  with  regards  to  the
  Academy;
• Research papers increased from 46 in 2000 to 56 in 2003; over the same
  period publications fell from 42 to 41; and
• Student numbers have risen from 266 to 426.

3.2.3 Military Professional Development Programme

This programme oversees the discipline, training, uniform, duties and other military aspects of the students’ development. 3.2.4 Meeting with Support Services

Support Services is responsible for facilities maintenance, hospital services, logistics, communications and the like. In their meeting with members of the delegation, staff members identified several problems, including strains on infrastructure, particularly living quarters and classrooms, due to growing student numbers. In addition, there have been long delays in the repair, maintenance and upgrading of such facilities. The Committee was informed that some barracks do not meet government safety regulations and could soon be condemned.

3.2.5 Meeting with Staff

The Committee delegation met with about 100 staff members. Their key concerns include the following: • The Committee should support the work of the Board of Inquiry; • The Academy’s academic stature, performance and education are being undermined; • The Dean’s authority has been undermined by the Academy’s management: he has a two-year contract, not a standard five-year contract, and does not have requisite support staff; • Some staff feel that affirmative action, employment equity and transformation are being pursued too fast, that standards are declining because posts are not being filled, and that white staff are being marginalised; • Other staff feel that not enough has been done in terms of affirmative action, employment equity and transformation. They feel more should be done, including attracting new staff with competitive packages, and using English as the medium of communication at staff and other meetings; • All staff have committed themselves to transformation, but there is a need for a dedicated diversity management programme; • The budget should be increased in line with the rise in student numbers; • Vacant posts should be filled as a matter of priority; • Funding should be made available to support research and conferences; • The Military Academy should be part of the career path of SANDF officers. Training and education should be integrated at the Academy and throughout the SANDF; • The four services should ensure they pay their financial contributions to the Academy in a timely manner; • There are differing views between the Department of Defence and the Public Service Commission regarding the status and benefits of Academy staff; • New staff are not provided with relocation assistance; and • The Committee should intervene with the Military Academy, Department of Defence and Stellenbosch University to address these concerns.

3.2.6 Meeting with students

The Committee delegation met with approximately 200 students. Students were not as forthcoming with questions as we would have liked. However, the following issues did arise and were answered by the Committee Chairperson:

• The possibility of SANDF members giving up  their  right  to  vote  to
  ensure that the SANDF remains non-partisan;
• The possibility of SANDF members being exempt from taxation;
• The future of civilian-military relations in South Africa; and
• The budget of the Military Academy is insufficient for student  intake
  levels and needs.

Students elect a student captain and other representatives from among themselves to constitute a student council, which represents them on faculty and other committees.

3.2.7 Relationship with the University of Stellenbosch

Subsequent to its oversight visit, the Committee received a copy of a letter from University of Stellenbosch Rector and Vice-Chancellor Chris Brink to Brigadier General TZ Manyama, the Commandant of the Military Academy. At the time this report was being prepared, the Committee had not yet seen a reply from Brig Gen Manyama, and it does not endeavour to pass judgement in this matter. However, we believe that Prof Brink’s letter raises critical issues before the Academy, and as a result we quote it at some length.

Prof Brink writes that there appears to be a misunderstanding concerning the military and academic lines of authority at the Academy. His expression of this view follows a meeting at which the Commandant of the Academy, on grounds of ensuring representivity, overruled a recommendation made by an academic committee to hire two lecturers. Prof Brink writes that “your military authority (which is not in dispute) cannot be used in this fashion to overrule, by way of command, the academic decision-making process”. He indicates that the relevant documentation

  would seem to represent a clash between the  military  ethos  and  the
  academic ethos, which I am keen to avoid. It is quite  clearly  stated
  that you, as Commandant, represent the Department of Defence.  On  the
  other hand it is also indisputable that the University represents  the
  Department  of  Education.  While  the  Department   of   Defence   is
  responsible for the training of soldiers, the Department of  Education
  is responsible for the education of scholars.  These  two  Departments
  have agreed on a collaboration that can  generate  the  best  of  both
  worlds: the coupling of the Military Academy is  meant  to  produce  a
  cadre of academically trained officer-leaders, who are  both  soldiers
  and  scholars.  The  interaction  between  the  two   Departments   is
  manifested in the contract between the University and the SANDF, which
  governs the operations of the Military Academy. It is  in  our  mutual
  interest, and in the interest of South Africa,  to  ensure  that  this
  contract functions effectively.


  The contract is based on the fact that there are certain  things  only
  the defence force can do, and certain things only a university can do.
  Only a university can award degrees, or appoint professors.

Prof Brink says that it would be completely “within the spirit and the letter of the interaction between the SANDF and the University if you wished to raise an objection against any recommendation of the Subcommittee…. But issuing an order to an academic committee is a different matter altogether, which is neither within the spirit nor the letter of the contract.”

It is not clear as to how this impasse has been resolved. In addition, the Committee has been informed that under the agreement between the University of Stellenbosch and the Department of Defence, consultation has to take place between the two as to the appointment of the Dean (consultation did take place) and the appointment of the Commandant (no consultation). 3.3 The Future of the Academy

In addition to the Military Academy, South Africa maintains two other military-educational institutions:

• The South African National Defence College, the purpose of which is to
  prepare selected officers and officials for senior appointments in the
  SANDF. The focus is on national security and  international  politics.
  It runs two programmes per year, each over 19 weeks, with 30  entrants
  per session. Eligible participants are military entrants from the rank
  of colonel and those  of  equivalent  civilian  status  in  government
  departments. Approximately one-quarter  of  participants  are  foreign
  officers; and

• The War College, which takes in 100 students per year. It concentrates
  on operational issues,  namely  preparing  SANDF  officers  to  become
  commanders of deployed divisions. All participants are  officers,  and
  it has fewer foreign participants.

Considering the specialised roles of these institutions, with their emphasis on short courses, the Military Academy is clearly the place where the fundamental education and training of the future officer corps must take place.

Government is committed to maintaining a single, undivided SANDF. The relationship between the military and civilian staff at the Academy needs to support the achievement of that vision and adhere to the mission of the Academy. The Academy’s focus should be the academic and professional training of officers for the SANDF. There is a need to reconfirm the mission of the Academy and to determine how best to achieve this objective, as well as to examine how the specific training needs of the four services within the SANDF can best be incorporated.

South Africa’s ability to train an officer corps that is intellectually and militarily up to the challenges of the present epoch is an issue not only of national importance, but continental significance. The Military Academy needs to accomplish several things simultaneously:

• Promote academic excellence;
• Offer professional qualifications of the kind that will be  attractive
  to students of all backgrounds;
• Provide value-for-money training fully in step with the needs  of  the
  four services within the SANDF;
• Become the military academy of choice for talented young  people  from
  throughout Africa; and
• Deepen the transformation process.

In order to help the Academy accomplish this challenging set of objectives, the Committee offers its findings and recommendations.

1. Findings

The Committee believes that the Academy stands at a critical turning point. The principal findings of the Committee are outlined below.

4.1 The Role and Functioning of the Academy

• There is confusion between the military and academic functions of  the
  Academy. This is the very least that can be deduced from the  evidence
  before  the  Committee.  Such  confusion   will   lead   to   damaging
  consequences;
• The Academy appears to be run on a strict authoritarian approach,  not
  like a higher education institution with a special mission;
• The appropriate balance between academic and  military  education  has
  not been struck; and
• It is doubtful that the four arms of the SANDF are getting  value  for
  money.

4.2 Representivity

In the Committee’s view, the majority of the staff support transformation, and some progress has been registered with regard to representivity, but there remains a large gap between the stated objectives of the SANDF and the make-up of the Academy. The Department of Defence representivity guidelines, which serve as a guide for the Academy, are as follows:

• 64.88% African
• 24.35% white
• 10.22% Coloured
• 0.75% Asian

In 2000, 8% of faculty were black (African, Indian and Coloured); today 30% of faculty are black. In 2000, 30% of undergraduate students were black; today 76% are black. In 2000, 9% of postgraduate students were black; today, 53% are black. There is clearly some progress here.

In terms of gender, of first-year students, 169 are male and 49 female; of post-graduates, 69 male and 31 female; of academic assistants, 57 male and 43 female; and of lecturers, 83 male and 17 female. There appears to have been a decline in the ratio of female faculty from 22% in 2000 to 20% in

1. The Committee has not received corresponding figures for a previous year with regard to student gender.

The Committee has received little information on the number of persons with disabilities at the Academy.

The full degree of demographic progress can be charted by reviewing the statistics provided by the Academy, which appear in Appendix 3.

The time has come to draw up a systematic programme to achieve representivity, rather than ad hoc responses as far as the staff are concerned, with an emphasis on intensive mentoring, aggressive recruiting and a proper career path.

4.3 Curriculum

Curriculum plays a crucial role in developing a common culture and integrity within any educational institution. In the Committee’s view, however, the curriculum in place at the Academy does not reflect the changing nature of the world, nor the changing nature of Africa. In general, the Committee finds the balance inadequate to the broad needs of the officer corps. While there is an impressive list of technical subjects covered, there is insufficient grounding in the humanities.

To develop the kind of officer corps we have described above, study and discussion of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa must occupy pride of place in the curriculum. Judging by the materials given to the Committee, it is hard to discern such a priority. Students of Military Law or Political Science do obtain some exposure to the Constitution. But this should surely be a foundational element for every student at the Academy – and not merely to be understood as a set of rules, but as a living document that is the outcome of a tremendous struggle waged in this country over many decades. Not a few commentators have pointed out that our Constitution is one of the most progressive constitutions on the face of the earth, and the basis for all in our interrelationships. Surely, then, the officer corps must be grounded in this document.

Similarly, the Constitution is of enormous relevance when developing the kind of respect and sensitivity to diverse cultures required of SANDF officers at home and abroad. This should be part of the coursework of every student, but it does not appear to be the case. Our review of the curriculum locates a module called “The Management of Cultural Diversity” presented under Industrial Psychology. This seems anomalous, as part of transformation is the capacity of the institution to celebrate our diversity and to ensure sensitivity to our distinctive languages, religions and cultures.

The Committee is also of the view that, not least given South Africa’s continental responsibilities, every student should be exposed to more study and discussion of Africa’s history and contemporary affairs. Much of the Africa-related course material in undergraduate programmes seems to be limited to Military History, reflecting the present staff academic and research interests. This needs to be reviewed urgently.

The library is in appalling condition, with a shortage of books and periodicals. This is alarming. The department cannot train the officer corps that South Africa needs without such basic materials.

4.4 Staff, Posts, Research and Qualifications

Staff appears to be in disarray. A total of 21 posts are currently vacant, including 12 Faculty of Military Science positions and 4 Section Military Development positions, and many of them have been vacant for some time. This delay harms the students and has a demoralising effect on the Academy as a whole. It indicates that something is wrong with the institutional culture.

In addition, the Committee has been led to believe that some posts have not been filled because there were no black candidates available to fill them. While such action may appear justified in the name of improving representivity, this is not the case.

Where will the Academy find appropriately qualified black faculty? Like every other section of our society, which is burdened with the consequences of apartheid, it must play an active part in training them. The Committee did not see any evidence of a staff development programme. The Academy needs one, and it must include mentoring. The tone and atmosphere of the Academy must also be congenial to those previously excluded.

The Committee has requested detailed information on research papers and publications emanating from the Academy. The latest information we have received covers the years 1994-2003. During the Committee’s visit it was informed that the 2003 output was 56 papers and 41 publications. However, there seems to be some confusion between conference papers and research papers – many of the former are listed as the latter. In addition, there needs to be greater emphasis on publication in peer-reviewed journals.

In terms of the academic staff, 20% hold doctorates, and 25% are enrolled in PhD programmes.

Judging by the material the Committee have reviewed, in general terms it seems to members that some of the senior officers may not be properly qualified for their positions.

4.5 Physical infrastructure and resources

• The Academy appears to be underfunded;
• The library,  especially  for  an  institution  that  seeks  to  be  a
  continental leader, is in an appalling state. There are  far  too  few
  books, journals and computers;
• The science laboratory has only nine tables  for  120  students  at  a
  time, the Committee was told. It needs to be  upgraded,  expanded  and
  better resourced;
• The computer laboratory takes four classes of more than  100  students
  each. The computers are outdated, students pay for printing, there are
  no laptops and internet facilities are limited. Students have  to  pay
  to use the internet. The management says  this  is  the  result  of  a
  funding shortfall from the Department of  Defence.  Clearly,  internet
  usage must be part of the Academy’s budget;
• Two of the four barracks are in desperate need of repair  –  otherwise
  they risk being in violation of building safety regulations. The roofs
  leak, light fittings need to be upgraded, and so on; and
• Physical training facilities  are  inadequate:  there  is  no  gym  or
  swimming pool. Minimum recreational facilities are needed.  After  the
  recent deaths by drowning of SANDF soldiers in  peacekeeping  missions
  abroad, one thing is for certain: our officers must know how to swim!

4.6 Military Training

The Section Military Development is responsible for development of military competencies. According to the information presented to the Committee, it organises drill sessions and parades; command communication; spiritual and professional guidance; sport, shooting and physical fitness. It also takes responsibility for regimental routine, military discipline, formal dinners, guest evenings and the like.

The expected outcomes of this programme, particularly as they relate to proficiency in, say, disassembling and assembling a rifle, are not entirely clear to the Committee.

4.7 Guest lecturers

In 2002-03 the Academy hosted two international guest speakers; in 2003-04, four; and in 2004-05, two. In the Committee’s view, this is not nearly enough international academic input. An institution of this type depends on international speakers, especially those who can speak to issues of the military in a democracy. Moreover, it is imperative to have a broad range of views on such subjects, not merely one, or even a handful.

The Committee was informed by a member of staff at the open meeting that in one case, the Commandant forbade an invitation to an overseas speaker because of his race. If true, this is clearly unacceptable.

4.8 HIV/AIDS According to management, the impact and incidence of HIV and AIDS at the Military Academy has been minimal. However, it is not clear whether there is systematic education in place concerning HIV/AIDS, as well as the opportunistic diseases associated with HIV/AIDS.

4.9 Sexual Harassment

The process for reporting and addressing complaints of sexual harassment needs to be reviewed. The Commandant states that since his arrival at the Academy there have been no such reports. The Committee learned during its visit that the complaints procedure provides for students and staff to report to their commanding officers or to the Commandant, nearly all of whom are men. In addition, the military does not encourage personnel to lay charges against their superior officers, or to circumvent the chain of command.

Subsequent to the Committee’s visit, it received a statement from the Chaplain of the Academy, dated 24 January of this year, which suggests that he is the first port of call for people alleging sexual harassment. The chaplain will then channel information to either the management (most of whom are men) or his functional superior (the Chaplain on the next level of command). The Chaplain will also refer the complainant to medical practitioners, a clinical psychologist and the educational psychologist.

The Committee feels this system would be more effective if a female officer, who can be directly approached by members of the Academy, is in charge of such complaints. This officer can then assist the complainant to call on the services of the other staff referred to in the procedure.

In the light of what has happened at other military academies, it appears to the Committee that a formal system that involves women officers (and, possibly, academic staff) is urgently needed at the Academy.

4.10 Outstanding reports

The Committee has requested, but has yet to receive, the following documentation:

• More information with regard to disability statistics;
• Financial arrangements between the Military Academy, the Department of
  Defence and the University of Stellenbosch;  and
• Material concerning problems between the University and the Academy.

1. Conclusion and Recommendations

5.1 Conclusion

The Military Academy is a national asset of strategic importance. However, the Committee believes that the approach adopted by the Academy up until now fails to meet the needs of the officer training corps, and as a result that neither the academic nor the military imperatives are being adequately served in the interests of South Africa. There is confusion over the core business of the Academy, and there must be a close investigation of the quality of its output.

The Academy has made some progress with regard to transformation. However, there is much room for improvement. Representivity targets are a long way from being met. Progress in this area has been accompanied by some racial tension. And this process cannot be separated from the range of managerial, budgetary, financial, logistical, maintenance, academic and other challenges facing the Academy.

If the Academy is to equip South Africa’s future officer corps with the intellectual and military skills it will need to function in an exceptionally challenging global environment, these challenges need to be addressed as a matter of urgency by the leadership of the Academy, by the Department of Defence and by Stellenbosch University. For the Academy to become a centre for officer training for the rest of Africa, as well as a source of pride and accomplishment in South Africa, a rehabilitative process needs to be initiated. The Committee’s recommendations are as follows:

5.2 Recommendations

i. There must be a close investigation of the quality of the Military Academy’s output, along with consideration of how to create the most cost-effective model; ii. The Academy, the Department of Defence and the University need to settle on a firm definition of the Academy’s core business, and to explore the kind of leadership which is best-suited to taking the Academy forward; iii. The agreement between the Department of Defence and Stellenbosch University establishes a Joint Advisory Committee, which advises on a range of matters, but which is not mandated to meet on a frequent basis. The Committee feels that this body’s work should either be expanded, or that a Joint Board of Studies should be established, chaired by the Dean, with the participant of the Commandant, that handles all academic matters; iv. In general, there should be greater interplay between the faculty and military, and confidence-building measures should be undertaken urgently; v. The Dean should be given security of tenure; vi. The curriculum should be carefully reviewed and improved; vii. The Academy should talk to the four arms of the SANDF to ensure that their officer corps training needs are part of the curriculum; viii. There is a need for closer liaison with the four services of the SANDF, who pay the fees of the students, to assess whether they are getting value for money with regards to the Academy’s graduates, as well as how the money spent compares to the costs of civilian universities; ix. There is a need to review continuously and evaluate the relationship between the University and the Academy with explicit reference to degree accreditation and the conditions of employment of staff; x. The higher education assessment committee should look at the professional degrees offered by the Academy; xi. Language policy needs to be reviewed with regard to practical matters such as meetings at the Academy; xii. Stellenbosch University needs to ensure that the Academy continues to achieve levels of academic excellence, but we need further scrutiny of the certificate and diploma courses; xiii. In the interest of academic excellence, the system of paying lecturers according to SANDF salary scales should be terminated. At present the Department of Defence is responsible for remuneration of academic personnel. It is very difficult to maintain quality when pay grades are so low. The fact is that the Academy competes against other universities and the private sector and needs to be resourced appropriately; xiv. There must be no further postponement of the filling of posts. Students suffer as a result of these long delays. Vacancies should be advertised and filled within three months at the latest; xv. As noted above, the process for reporting and addressing complaints of sexual harassment needs to be addressed; xvi. The Academy, like every other higher education institution, must today grapple with the consequences of the criminal refusal of the apartheid government to provide quality education to black South Africans – and to prevent black educators from assuming high-ranking professional positions. There needs to be a systematic staff development and mentoring programme in place. The finest educators will not simply come ready made: they will be trained; xvii. Highly motivated staff should be drawn into the effort to renew the Academy; xviii. Current funding levels are inadequate. Consideration should be given to Department of Education funding, through the usual block grant, to supplement the Department of Defence’s allocation for higher education; xix. The Academy is planning to offer some distance education courses. This should be done in close cooperation with the Department of Education; xx. The Committee needs to interact regularly with the Military Academy, the University and the Department of Defence to help address the many concerns raised during the visit, as well as the funding and other challenges facing the Academy; xxi. The Department of Public Works and the Department of Defence need to upgrade the barracks, buildings, recreational facilities, and computer and science libraries. The computer facilities for both students and staff need to be upgraded to the same level as those of the War and Defence Colleges; and xxii. In the Committee’s view, it would be useful for a South African delegation to visit the Royal Military College of Canada, to observe how a multicultural society without a significant military posture in world-power politics has restructured and is educating its officer corps.

             FORMAL ADOPTION OF REPORT BY THE COMMITTEE

This report of the oversight visit to the Military Academy, having been put to the committee, was adopted on Tuesday, 12 April 2005.

Report to be considered.

                             Appendix 1   Members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence Delegation to
         the South African Military Academy, 19 January 2005

Head of Delegation and Portfolio Committee Chairperson:

Professor Kader Asmal

Members of Parliament:

Mr LN Diale Mr NB Fihla Mr PJ Groenewald Ms CB Johnson Dr GW Koornhof Mr GP Mngomezulu Mr S Moatshe Ms XC Makasi Mr SB Ntuli Mr OE Monareng Mr KW Morwamoche Mr MRS Shah

Parliamentary Staff:

Mr G Campher Dr M Parks

                             Appendix 2
Military Academy Management Team Delegation to Meeting with Portfolio
          Committee on Defence Delegation, 19 January 2005

Commandant of the Military Academy:

Brigadier General TZ Manyama

Academic programmes:

Dean of the Faculty of Military Science: Professor DJ Malan Vice-Rector (Teaching): Professor R Botman, University of Stellenbosch Dean of Students: Dr E van Haarte, University of Stellenbosch

Military Professional Development Programmes:

Lieutenant Colonel SB Nombewu

Support Services:

Colonel GM Louw Transformation Issues:

Lieutenant Colonel PI Daniels

Learnership Leadership:

Ensign S Ndlovu

                             Appendix 3
                Military Academy Demographic Profile
                    (figures provided by Academy) Faculty:

Centre for Military Studies:

In 1995 it was 100% white. The first African male joined in 1996.

Students:

Undergraduate

Postgraduate

Academic Assistants:

Section Military Development:

In 2000 the section was 100% white.

Unit Headquarters:

Breakdown of Certificate and Degree Students:

Support Services Section:

                   Proposed Structural Amendments

Current post vacancies:

Head Quarters 1 Faculty of Military Science 12 Centre for Military Studies 1 Section Military Development 4 Support Services 3

Additional posts needed:

Head Quarters 1 Section Military Development 6 Support Services 1

Posts needing to be upgraded:

Support Services 3 “.