Pretoria military base defenceless as it comes under siege from locals

The state of disrepair of a Pretoria military base is so dire that its management has resorted to collecting rain water for its day-to-day water needs and generating its own electricity to keep the lights on.

During a visit to the Special Forces School in Murrayhill, north of Pretoria, the parliamentary committee on defence and military veterans was on Saturday informed of the school’s struggles, which include its encroachment by civilians.

The school said communities had built homes and structures too close to its perimeter. This resulted in the stealing of electrical cables and destruction of water pipes that supply the school with municipal water.

Utilising its own funds, the school uses generators to keep the lights on and has resorted to installing JoJo tanks for water.  

Committee chairperson Thabo Mmutle said it had since recommended the installation of boreholes as water source.

The committee also said the electricity challenges could be addressed if the school invested in solar power to ensure its operations were not solely dependent on the national grid.

The SA National Defence Union’s (Sandu) Pikkie Greeff on Sunday called for a permanent military presence around the base to safeguard its property.

He also supported the installation of a borehole and solar energy at the facility to address water supply issues and the energy crisis.

“Fund the SANDF to sink a borehole and enforce permanent 24/7 military patrols around the perimeter of the facility,” he said.

Defence and military veterans headquarters’ lease expired at the end of November 2018 and suitable premises had not been found so far.

The committee recommended that the school write to it and state exactly what sort of support it needed.

“There must be a clear decision from command council in terms of the lands surrounding the bases.”  

The committee also visited the headquarters of the defence and military veterans in Hatfield, Pretoria, for a briefing on facilities and its call centre. It heard that the headquarters’ lease expired at the end of November 2018 and suitable premises had not been found so far.

The department of public works and infrastructure was apparently in the process of finding a suitable building.  

Mmutle said the call centre was aimed at ensuring that stakeholders could reach the department. It was found that the call centre was fully operational, “except for minor issues”.

“The committee noted that it will need to have another interactive session with the department of defence and military veterans to discuss broader issues. It also recommended that the department should provide, in full, the problems it faces so that the committee can make proper recommendations,” Mmutle said.