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The DA demands urgent answers after several cases of theft at different army bases were exposed by the media.
The party warned in a statement this week that the security of the South African National Defense Force (SADF) is collapsing completely.
Chris Hattingh, the DA’s spokesman for defense and military veterans, says the minister of defense must urgently explain how many weapons and strategic assets have been stolen, who has been held accountable and what plan is going to restore security at the bases.
Also read: Weapons looted during break-in at SANW base
According to Hattingh, the recent incidents at the Tek, Swartkop and Wahlmansthal bases, as well as at the naval base in Simonstad, indicate a serious security crisis. Among other things, he referred to the theft of R4 rifles and grenade launchers at Tek base in Centurion. In addition, attempts were also made at Swartkop to steal communication cables and power generators, which are connected to critical radar equipment.
At Wahlmansthal, the main electrical cable was apparently dug up inside the security fence and stolen. Hattingh believes that this indicates that criminals have become so insolent that despite the security they steal inside a military base and then get away with it too.
“This is no longer ordinary theft. It is a failure on a national scale,” says Hattingh in a statement.
He says the repeated theft and vandalism at the Swartkop air force base has destroyed substations and other electrical infrastructure.
Furthermore, he is also concerned that this impudence points to the possibility of organized crime networks that, with help from within the army – workers or contractors – specifically target the bases.
According to a recent parliamentary answer from the minister, the Air Force’s Central Mobile Deployment Wing currently has no Eskom power and the unit relies on eleven mobile generators.
According to the DA, these generators use between 12 000 and 16 900 liters of diesel per month at a cost of up to R334 958 per month. Hattingh did not say whether these costs were calculated against the new, much more expensive diesel prices.
“Taxpayers are now paying for diesel because the state cannot protect its own military infrastructure,” he remarked displeasedly.
Hattingh pledged to put further pressure on the army and minister to tighten security.