EDITORIAL | It's high time to take South Africa's security seriously

As our soldiers return home, let us revert to our sober senses and take the sovereignty of this country and its security seriously.

Last week 249 military personnel who had been deployed in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) returned home. This was after South Africa withdrew its troops deployed for a peacekeeping mission in the DRC following a calamitous campaign which resulted in the deaths of 14 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members due, among other reasons, to them being ill-equipped.

The pressure from both the public outcry and parliamentary scrutiny left the government with little choice but to withdraw our troops who had very little equipment and infrastructural support in the DRC. We are happy to have our men and women in uniform back on home soil, though bringing them back was riddled with challenges and heart-breaking reports, painting a picture of a military that is on its knees financially and logistically.

As the commander in chief of the SANDF, President Cyril Ramaphosa has done a poor job. Sure, he has had ministers and deputy ministers overseeing the portfolio, but things have continued to fall apart right before his eyes and those of his ministers and commanders.

What the president fails to appreciate is that he is presiding over the safety, security and sovereignty of South Africa, entrusted by the country's civilians. For the SANDF to be in such dire straits is an indictment on his leadership and his role as president.

Reports of failing aerial surveillance equipment, shortages in ammunition and basics such as food supplies, logistical nightmares further worsened by malfunctioning or lack of vehicles and staff are shocking and disturbing. That the country with the most sophisticated and durable economy in Africa can’t even secure its borders or equip its military, is just shameful.

Looking around the globe, one can see tensions between countries and regions. Given the volatility that we are witnessing in the global arena, one wonders how safe are we as South Africans. How protected are we from enemies foreign and domestic?

Much of the outcry over the poor prioritisation of the SANDF seems to have fallen on deaf ears — and what did we reap from that? The unnecessary deaths of our soldiers in the field

Some might say we are a neutral country that does not have any natural enemies, but that would be naive. Your enemies do not become your enemies because you declared them as such, but because they declare themselves to be against you. If any nation were to be directly opposed to South Africa and declare war on our country, would we be ready and able to meet the challenge and defend ourselves?

While it is known that SANDF training is among the hardest and the best in the world, it means nothing without modern equipment and trained staff to use that equipment. Our former flagship arms manufacturing powerhouse Denel, once the envy of the world in armament technology and equipment development, is now a mere shell of its former self, underfunded and eroded by corruption and brazen mismanagement.

The world has moved on and continues to develop and move forward without us. Our arms technology has been sold to the rest of the world, where they developed better equipment and funded more research and development than us, surpassing us in every respect.

SANDF stands for South African National Defence Force, but today we worry that the D in SANDF is silent. We even fail to bring our own soldiers home with our own air force. Anyone who has been to the show the air force puts on at Waterkloof will tell you that it has been the same old show, with the emphasis on old, for at least 10 to 15 years.

Much of the outcry over the poor prioritisation of the SANDF seems to have fallen on deaf ears — and what did we reap from that? The unnecessary deaths of our soldiers in the field.

The bottom line is South Africans are on our own and nobody is coming to save us.