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GENERAL INFORMATION
Official Name:
Republic of South Africa
Capital:
Pretoria or Tshwane (administrative centre) – 1.76mn (2000)
Chief of State and Head of Government:
President Thabo Mbeki
National Currencies and current exchange rates:
Rand = 100 cents; Average exchange rate in 1999: R6.11:US$1; Exchange rate on 20/2/2001: R7.76:US$1.
National Day and other important days:
1 January (New Year's Day), 21 March (Human Rights Day), 27 April (Freedom Day), 1 May (Workers' Day), 16 June (Youth Day), 9 August (National Women's Day), 24 September (Heritage Day), 16 December (Day of Reconciliation), 25 December (Christmas Day), 26 December (Goodwill Day). Variable dates: Good Friday, Family Day (the Mon following Easter Sunday).
Official Languages:
Eleven official languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu.
System Of Government:
Federal state, consisting of a central government and nine provincial governments
Ethnic groups:
Black (77%), white (12%), coloured (8.5%), Asian (2.5%).
Religions:
Christianity (77%), Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and traditional beliefs.
GEOGRAPHY
Area
Total area: 1,219,912sq km; Land area: 1,219,912sq km; Coastline: 2,798km
Climate:
Mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast
Physical description:
Vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
Physical Infrastructure:
Communication: per 1,000 inhabitants (1997)
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Daily newspapers
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- 34
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Radio receivers
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- 355
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Television receivers
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- 134
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Main telephone lines
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- 120. The telephone system is the best developed and most modern in Africa.
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Cell phone users
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- over 2m (2000)
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No. of Internet hosts per 100,000
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- 315
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Transportation
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Railways
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- 21,431 km
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Roads
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- 534,131 km; of which 63,027 km paved (including 2,032 km of expressways)
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Ports and harbours
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- Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mosselbay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha
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Airports with paved runways
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- 143
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Energy provision:
192,015 bn kWh (1998). By source: fossil fuel 92.09%; hydro 0.83%; nuclear 7.08%. Production is based on vast coal resources, which provide 54 per cent of locally generated electricity and about 20 per cent of liquid fuel requirements. The bulk supply electricity company, Eskom, a self-financing utility agency, has an installed generating capacity of about 33gW. Largely through Eskom, South Africa supplies almost 60 per cent of the total electricity generated on the continent of Africa. Eskom produces about 97 per cent of South Africa's electricity, with the balance made up from mines, industries and municipalities with their own small stations. It operates 17 coal-fired power stations, two hydroelectric, two pumped storage schemes, two gas turbine stations and the country's only nuclear power plant at Koeberg.
NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Mineral resources
Gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
Water resources and management
Annual internal renewable water resources: 1,011 cu m Per Capita (1998). Sectoral withdrawals: Domestic 17%, Industrial 7%, Agricultural 79%
Land use -
Key Environmental Concerns:
Lack of important arterial rivers of lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage threatens to outpace supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification
Environmental policy and manifestation:
International agreements - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertifiction, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
Natural hazards:
Prolonged droughts
ECONOMY
Overview
South Africa is a middle-income, developing country with an abundant supply of resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors, a stock exchange that ranks among the largest ten in the world, and a modern infrastructure. However, high levels of unemployment (around 40% in 2000) and economic problems that are a legacy of the apartheid, notably poverty and the lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups, are serious structural problems, South Africa having one of the most unequal distributions of income in the world. Despite the government's commitment to promote job creation in accordance with its Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) strategy, and the number of jobs declined by some 600,000 between 1995-98. Economic growth continues to lag behind population growth. Other pressing problems are crime and the high incidence of HIV/AIDS. With 20 per cent of the adult population estimated to be HIV positive, the incidence of AIDS presents a major threat to the country's long-term skills base.
Economic activity is centred on the minerals and energy sector with manufacturing based mainly on mining activity. Exports are driven mainly by mining, energy and agriculture-related activities, with gold remaining the largest foreign-exchange earner (some 30% of exports), and platinum the country’s chief export. South Africa is the world’s biggest platinum supplier, and it expected to provide 74% of global market requirements in 2000. The service sector is the most important contributor to GDP at 57% (1998). It ranges from the financial sector to a developing tourism and an important retail sector. Agriculture contributes little to GDP, but is linked to significant agro-industrial activities. Informal services are for many the main source of employment.
Inflation fell from 8.5 per cent in 1997 to 5.5 per cent in 1999, rising to 7.2% in 2000. Inflation is expected to average 6% in 2001.
Labour
South Africa faces massive unemployment, widely estimated to be over 30%, though Statistics SA put total employment in 1999 at 10,4m and unemployment at 23%. According to COSATU, the largest labour union, most of the jobs that have been created are in the informal sector or are part-time in nature.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
Although this sector contributes less than 5% to GDP, and has been shrinking, it continues to provide substantial employment (especially in rural areas), employing about 14% of the workforce. Its role in agro-industry is, however, more significant in output and employment, with some 30% of non-gold export revenue coming from agricultural and processed agricultural products. The sector is highly diversified, and a wide variety of food crops are successfully grown. Main crops include maize, sugar, citrus and deciduous fruits, grapes, sorghum and groundnuts. Animal production is the largest sector in agriculture (about 40 per cent). Eggs and cattle contribute about a fifth of the output of animal products; game farming grew extensively during the 1980s and is a viable industry with economic potential; wool exports generate valuable foreign exchange; horticultural products contribute between 20-30 per cent to agricultural production.
Industry and manufacturing
Manufacturing contributes more than any other single sector at some 25% in 1999. The sector is dominated by capital intensive mining and energy activities, iron and steel, heavy chemicals and mineral beneficiation. Most of the raw materials and semi-manufactured goods required by industry are available from local sources. Other goods manufactured are clothing and textiles, processed foods, tobacco, furniture, paper and paper products, electrical and non-electrical machinery, and cars. Agro-processing, cars and components, clothing and textiles have been identified as key growth sectors.
Growth of output has fluctuated: output grew from the mid-1970s until 1988, contracted by 1.2% between 1988 -1994, registered growth of 1.2% between 1994-1998, and has since registered limited growth. The slow growth in manufacturing output in the late 1980s was largely attributable to the fall in world demand, low levels of capacity utilisation, reduced investment and disinvestment by foreign companies and labour problems. The lifting of protective measures in place prior to 1994, privatization and liberalization, reduction in tariffs and a cheaper rand have made South Africa's manufacturing sector more competitive. Local companies hope to benefit from a rise in domestic demand and from increased exports following the recovery in Asian and European markets. According to latest government figures, production and sales volumes for the period January-November 1999 were 13 per cent higher than during the same period in 1998. Measures to revive the sector will depend also on levels of foreign investment.
Tourism
A popular tourist destination, South Africa had six million visitors in 1998, more than both Japan and Australia. However, security concerns continue to act as a deterrent to the growth of this sector. The sector contributes 2% to GDP and is the fourth most important earner of foreign exchange.
Mining and semi-processing
South Africa is one of the world's foremost mineral producers and exporters, and an international leader in mining technology. Reserves of platinum group minerals, gold, chromium, diamonds, uranium, titanium and nickel are among the world’s biggest known reserves. In total there are around 60 different minerals produced from about 870 mines. Mineral production in 1998 included diamonds: 10.76m carats; iron ore: 33m tonnes; copper: 165,000 tonnes; manganese ore: 3m tonnes; and platinum: 200,143 kg. Gold exports totalled R25.9bn in 1998. Gold Fields, South Africa's second-largest gold miner, reported in February 2000 that criminal syndicates were stealing 5 -10 per cent of all the gold produced by South African's mines. This amounts to 20-40 tonnes of gold a year, worth US$190m-US$380m. South Africa continues to move away from dependence on the domestic mining industry. In 1999, the sector accounted for only 6 per cent of GDP, although the country continues to rely on gold exports, which make up a fifth of its foreign exchange earnings. Gold output fell in 1999 to 449.5 tonnes, down 14.9 tonnes on 1998 production.
Hydrocarbons
South Africa's first offshore oilfield, the Oribi oilfield, began production in 1997, and is expected to supply about 6 per cent of the country's requirements. South Africa is a major exporter of coal (7 per cent of export earnings). Coal production was 118.3m tonnes oil equivalent in 1998, an increase of 1.4 per cent on 1997 output. Coal reserves stood at 55.33bn tonnes (end-1998). Large gas reserves discovered off southern Cape coast are sufficient to produce 25,000 barrels a day of petrol and diesel for 30 years.
Government finance and fiscal policy
In 1994 the newly appointed ANC led government faced the problem of economic recession and high rates of poverty. In an effort to redress poverty and the glaring inequalities in the economy, and to revive growth, the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) was introduced, but this was rather abruptly abandoned following a policy shift and replaced in June 1996 by the Growth, Employment and Redistribution Programme (GEAR). The GEAR macroeconomic strategy identified the urgent need for further action to increase labour intensive economic growth to address the unemployment crisis.
The failure of the economy to respond as anticipated to the stimuli provided by the GEAR programme caused some consternation in government circles, not least among the leftist components of the ruling alliance. For those who remained converts to the new policy track such failures were explained away as reflecting the adverse effects of tremors in the global economy rather than any shortcoming inherent in the assumptions underlying the GEAR strategy itself.
GEAR commits the government to orthodox and disciplined macroeconomic management, while confining its role in dealing with poverty and inequality to the limited provision of social services, especially welfare, education, and health services. This approach leaves a central role to private sector employment creation as the major link between growth and the reduction of poverty and inequality. Government's primary direct employment intervention is through creating employment in public works programs.
In an effort to disguise the discontinuities in macroeconomic policy, government has been at pains to explain that GEAR incorporated all the essential ingredients of the RDP and was founded upon the same desire for social justice. However, neither the governing alliances internal critics nor many of the constituencies were convinced by these arguments. Responding to an increasingly restive civil society dissatisfied with the governments policy and track record of implementation, the government has recently adjusted focus to place more emphasis on addressing the needs of the poor, while also fostering an environment conducive to foreign investment in order to promote job creation.
In terms of GEAR the government has pursued conservative economic policies – a tight monetary policy, trade liberalization, co-optive labour policies, and a Privatization programme for the restructuring of state owned enterprises between 2000 - 2004, the proceeds of which are forecast to amount to some US$3.1bn.
Since 1994 government policy has been driven by the need to consolidate the country’s fiscal position and reduce the debt burden. More recently in recognition of the need to balance its conservative/monetarist economic policies (in keeping with its desire to win international approval), while also meeting the enormous challenge of unemployment and poverty, the government has significantly modified the GEAR strategy to benefit the poorest members of society. In the three-year budget plan unveiled in early 2001, greater emphasis was placed on boosting economic growth and on investment, both domestic and foreign.
From the mid-1980s to the mid -1990s trade surpluses were achieved through export growth and restrained import demand. The rapid increase in South Africa’s integration into global markets since 1994 has resulted in an ongoing increase in the volume of trade leading to shrinking trade surpluses. Throughout 2000 the external trade surplus continued to expand.
Foreign Aid and Donors
During the apartheid years foreign aid was minimal, but since 1994 the government has generated pledges worth more than US$1.8bn mainly from Japan, the US and the EU. Government policy is not to accept pledges until they have formed part of government budgets and project plans.
Regional and International economic grouping/alliances:
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African Union
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Southern African Development Community (SADC)
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Southern African Customs Union (SACU)
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POPULATION
Estimates explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
Health
The legacy of apartheid is evident in the health statistics: infant mortality rates among the African population, which are on a par with those of Bangladesh, are considerably higher than those for whites, which are similar to those in OECD countries. Since 1994 the government has made a concerted effort to redress the historical imbalances by shifting the emphasis to primary health care and provision of facilities and services to previously marginalized areas.
Infant mortality has risen to 58.88 (2000 estimate).
HIV/AIDS
South Africa is at the epicentre of the HIV/Aids epidemic in Africa, the worlds most badly hit continent. Rising mortality rates are most marked in women aged 25-29 where rates are now more than triple what they were a decade ago, the government's own localised ante-natal studies suggesting that 4.7 million South Africans - one in nine of the general population - are HIV-positive. AIDS already accounts for almost a quarter of all deaths, and in 1999 30% of maternal deaths were caused by non-pregnancy related infections. According to the South African Medical Research Council, more than half the deaths of people aged between 15 and 49 are already as a result of HIV-AIDS. The Development Bank of South Africa has projected that the population growth rate could drop by 16m over a period of 30 years because of HIV/AIDS and that from 2016 onwards, population growth would decline by 0,16 a year as annual AIDS-related Social Indicators: The legacy of apartheid is evident in the health and education sectors
POLITICAL
Constitution & political system
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Constitution
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- adopted 3 February 1997
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Legal system
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- based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law
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Legislative branch
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- bicameral parliament consisting of the National Assembly (400 seats) and the National Council of Provinces (90 seats)
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Elections
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last held June 1999
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SECURITY INFORMATION
Conflict History
South Africa has not been involved in armed conflict since 1990, although political violence inside South Africa continued up to the 1994 general elections, and at a lower intensity for some years after that, and still occasionally flares up.
The armed forces were previously involved in counter-insurgency operations in the former South-West Africa from 1973 to 1990, with police counter-insurgency elements having been deployed in the territory from 1966. The South African armed forces also had elements deployed in Angola in the early 1970s, operating against Swapo and co-operating with the Portuguese forces. In 1975 a small force was deployed into Angola to support the FNLA and Unita against the MPLA and the Cuban forces deployed to support its take-over. The South Africans withdrew in 1976, after it became clear that they stood alone in actively opposing the MPLA take-over. Between 1978 and 1988 the South African armed forces conducted“external operations” against Swapo in the southern portions of Angola. From 1985 to 1988 small forces were also deployed forces to assist Unita in fighting off annual MPLA offensives in the south-east of the country.
Both the police and the armed forces also deployed elements to Rhodesia at various times during the war in that country, the last personnel being withdrawn after the establishment of Zimbabwe in 1980.
The efforts by the ANC, and to a lesser extent the PAC, to launch an insurgency in South Africa itself, were mainly countered by the Security Branch of the police, although Army troops were deployed during the 1980s and early 1990s to prevent riots escalating into insurrection. Special Forces elements and occasionally the Air Force were employed to strike at ANC facilities in the neighbouring countries. South Africa also provided logistic and training support to Renamo in retaliation for Mozambique’s support for the ANC’s armed wing.
Since 1990 the armed forces have been deployed for border control and to support the police in the execution of large-scale crime-prevention operations.
Security Situation
The most serious security problems currently facing South Africa are serious crime and regional instability. The former is primarily a matter for the SA Police Service, although it has proved to be incapable of establishing control without the support of the SA National Defence Force, which has led to the SANDF having to continue to deploy quite large numbers of troops on what are in essence policing tasks.
The issue of regional instability is more complex, requiring the South African government to take on a regional security role that it has been reluctant to accept. South Africa cannot, however, afford not to assist its regional neighbours in stabilizing the region. It needs foreign fixed capital investment to allow its economy to grow, that that investment will not come if the region remains unstable. The continuing wars in Angola and the DRC are the primary concerns, not least because both are overlapping into neighbouring countries and generating growing numbers of refugees. There is also the wider problem of instability in Africa, which also affects perceptions of the entire continent as an investment destination.
The government realizes the importance of regional stability, and has moved closer to accepting that South Africa has regional security responsibilities it cannot afford to evade. It did deploy a small force into Lesotho in 1998, when there was cause to suspect an imminent coup d’etat there. It has since deployed a small support detachment to the DRC as part of MONUC; several officers as military observers with UNMEE; and most recently a battalion-strength “Protection and Support Detachment” to Burundi.
Security Related Budgets
Defence Budget
The Department of Defence had a budget of R 15 803 million for the 2001/02 financial year, and expects to receive R 16 835 million and R 17898 million in the next two years. The defence budget is discussed in more detail in a later section.
Safety and Security Budget
The Department of Safety and Security is responsible for the SA Police Service. Its 2001/02 budget was R 16 539 million, of which some 80% went to personnel costs, R 671.5 million was spent on new equipment and R 985.5 million was spent on maintaining inventories. The budgets for the 2002/03 and 2003/04 financial years are planned as R 17 626 million and R 18 533 million respectively.
Political Oversight
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President : Thabo Mbeki
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Minister of Defence : Mosioua Lekota
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Deputy Minister of Defence : Nomsizwe Madlala-Routledge
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Secretary for Defence : January Masilela
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The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Force, and has direct control in time of war. The Minister of Defence is the political head of the Department of Defence, exercising day-to-day control over the department and the armed forces on behalf of the President. He is assisted by a Deputy Minister. Defence policy is decided by a foreign affairs, defence and security Cabinet Committee chaired by the President, while detail issues are handled by an ad-hoc ministerial sub-committee chaired by the Minister of Defence.
Parliamentary oversight falls to three committees: The Joint Standing Committee on Defence is a multi-party committee drawing its members from both houses, and has a broad policy-level oversight role. The Portfolio Committee of the National Assembly is an all-party committee that has an immediate supervisory role and is responsible for approving the defence budget. The Select Committee on Safety and Security of the National Council of Provinces exercises a general oversight role.
Security Legislation
The government tabled a draft Defence Act during 2001, which was still being debated at the end of the year. The new Act was drafted to replace original and much amended defence legislation dating back to 1912, with the emphasis on aligning defence legislation with the new constitution and also on streamlining the Act. It also makes provision for military trade unions and reinstates an earlier provision that only volunteers may be required to serve outside South Africa. Other areas addressed are the establishment and functions of the Defence Secretariat and the changed functions of the military command structure, the new military justice system, and cooperation with foreign forces.
A Military Disciplinary Supplementary Measures Act has introduced a new military disciplinary code and a new system of military courts.
The National Conventional Arms Control Bill sets out the law regarding armaments manufacture, export and import, and defines the roles and functions of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) and its secretariat.
The Ministry of Defence also tabled two bills during 2001 to wind up the armed forces integration process. The Termination of Integration Bill sets 31 March 2002 as the final date for any former MK or APLA members to apply for integration into the SANDF, and an amendment to the Demobilisation Bill sets 31 December 2002 as the final date for demobilization in terms of the armed forces integration process.
International Treaties/Protocols/Alliances
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South Africa is party to the Geneva Convention and to a number of international arms control regimes, including:
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Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Conventional Weapons that are Excessively Harmful of have Indiscriminate Effects (CCW);
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Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR);
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Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC);
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Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons and their Destruction (BTWC);
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Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT);
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Africa Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty (ANWFZ);
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International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA);
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Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT);
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Zangger Committee;
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Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
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As a member state of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), South Africa is a member of its Inter-State Defence and Security Committee and is represented on the Organ for Politics. A draft SADC Defence Pact has been circulated and is intended to formalize the defence and security arrangements within the SADC. South Africa has also been elected to head the security arm of the body overseeing the initial implementation of the New Programme for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
South Africa has also entered into bilateral defence and security agreements with several of its neighbouring states. These include:
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Botswana: Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security (June 2000).
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Lesotho: Memorandum of Understanding on“Defence Cooperation” (March 2000).
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Mozambique: Agreement on“Defence Cooperation” (March 2000).
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Namibia: Joint Commission on Defence and Security. Agreements on Defence Cooperation and on Defence and Security (June 1997).
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Tanzania: Defence Liaison Committee. Agreement on Defence Cooperation (June 1999)
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Zimbabwe: Defence Cooperation. Defence Agreement signed in February 1996, focusing on cooperation in training and military medical exchange programmes.
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There are extensive defence related agreements with the United Kingdom, including:
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MoU on Defence Equipment Cooperation (March 1995).
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Bilateral Arrangement iro Hydrographic Offices (November 1996).
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Joint Defence Committee. MoU on Defence Cooperation (November 1997);
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General Security Arrangement– Protection of Classified Information Exchanged for the Purpose of Defence Cooperation, Production, Research and Procurement between the two Countries” (November 1997).
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MoU on Cooperative Defence Research (September 1997)
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MoU on“Defence Mapping and Survey Cooperation and the Exchange of Geographic Materials” (March 2001).
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South Africa also has defence related bilateral mechanisms and other government-to-government
Agreements with several other countries, including: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, People’s Republic of China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Italy, Jordan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, Republic of China, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Togo, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and the United States. Several of these agreements cover defence industrial issues, among them those with India and Malaysia.
There are two agreements with Singapore. An Agreement on Military Cooperation (November 1997) covers the use of South African training areas and test and evaluation facilities, training exchanges, training for peace support operations, cooperation in military medicine, and defence industrial cooperation. An Agreement on the Status of Singapore Forces Deployed in South Africa (October 1998) covers the permanent deployment of an RPV training detachment as well as test personnel on occasional deployments.
There is also an agreement between the state-owned defence company Denel and the German defence technology and acquisition agency (BWB) covering the use of Denel’s OTB weapons test range for a period of four years. The agreement includes an undertaking by the SANDF to make facilities such as the Air Force Test Flight and Development Centre available to the Germans.
International Community Involvement
South African President Thabo Mbeki is the prime mover behind the NEPAD initiative, which he launched at the World Economic Forum at Davos in January 2001 as the Millenium African Plan, and to which he attaches very considerable importance. South Africa is also one of the most active members of the SADC, and has been active in the move to form an African Union to take the place of the Organisation of African Unity. On the international front, South Africa has begun to take an increasingly active role in the United Nations and in other bodies, notably the Non-Aligned Movement.
Forces Deployed Outside Country
SAPSD
The South African Protection and Support Detachment in Burundi has been deployed to protect Hutu exiles returning to participate in the transitional government, and to train a joint Hutu/Tutsi Special Protection Unit to take over that task. It has a strength of 701, and is made up of a small brigade headquarters staff, a parachute battalion, VIP protection teams, an Air Force detachment with two Oryx helicopters, and supporting engineers, signals personnel and a Military Health Service medical task team. A second infantry battalion is on call.
MONUC
The South African contribution to the UN force in the DRC is a support detachment that comprises air traffic control, air cargo handling and fire-fighting teams, a small medical team, and a military police detachment. The total strength is some 150. There is an expectation that the SANDF will be asked to provide an infantry battalion group for the expanded MONUC.
UNMEE
The SANDF has seven officers with UNMEE as observers, and two officers attached to the OAU observer mission.
There are also several SANDF officers assigned to the UN Department of Peace Keeping as staff officers and special advisors, and several officers have been attached to UN and NATO forces in the former Yugoslavia for varying periods to gain experience.
South African National Defence Force
Senior Personnel
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Chief of the SANDF - General Siphiwe Nyanda
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Chief of Joint Operations - Lt-Gen Godfrey Ngwenya
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Chief of the Army - Lt-Gen Gilbert Ramano
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Chief of the Air Force - Lt-Gen Roelf Beukes
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Chief of the Navy - V-Adm Johan Retief
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Surgeon-General - Lt-Gen Rinus Janse van Rensburg
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Chief of Corporate Staff - V-Adm Martyn Trainor
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Chief of Joint Support - Lt-Gen T.T. Mantanzima
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Structure
The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) is commanded by the Chief of the Defence Force, who is responsible for the readiness of the armed forces and for the conduct of operations.
The Secretary for Defence is the accounting officer of the department, and controls the Defence Secretariat, which has five divisions: Policy and Planning, Finance, Acquisition, Inspector General, and Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action.
Operations are conducted by the Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS), who reports directly to the Chief of the SANDF. CJOPS has direct command over the Special Forces Brigade, joint task forces formed for a specific operation, and the five Regional Joint Task Forces that handle internal security and other peacetime matters. He also specifies to the services the range of capabilities required of them, and monitors their state of training and readiness.
The Chief of Corporate Staff handles all staff matters at the joint SANDF level, and controls six divisions: Strategy and Planning, Military Legal Services, Chaplain General, Corporate Communications, Chief of Defence Reserves, and Foreign Relations.
There are two other joint divisions, Intelligence and Joint Support. The latter is responsible for coordinating the functioning of the common supporting elements: Logistics Agency, Logistic Support Formation, Command and Management Information Systems Formation, General Support Base Formation, Military Police Agency, Joint Training Formation, Human Resources Support Centre, and the Service Corps. The latter has the task of providing vocational training to members of the SANDF prior to their discharge from the services.
There are four services: Army, Air Force, Navy and Military Health Service. Each is headed by a Chief (Surgeon-General in the case of the SAMHS) and has a command structure that is divided into two elements: One forms an integral part of Defence Headquarters and participates in policy formulation at that level; the other focuses on preparing the units of the service to be mission or combat ready.
Army
The Army has two brigade headquarters, to which it assigns units as required for a particular operation. Its units otherwise fall under so-called “type formations”, which are essentially what most other armies call branches or corps, and of which there are nine: Infantry, Artillery, Air Defence Artillery, Armour, Engineer, Intelligence, Training and Support. The brigades or individual units are transferred to the command of a joint task force or directly under CJOPS for the conduct of an operation. The full-time force of the Army currently comprises
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1 Tank regiment (Olifant Mk 1A)
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1 Armoured car regiment (Rooikat)
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1 Mechanised infantry battalion group (Ratel, Rooikat, G5)
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1 Mechanised infantry battalion (Ratel)
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1 Parachute battalion
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3 Motorised infantry battalions (Buffel and Casspir APCs)
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9 Light infantry battalions (Mamba APCs, Samil 20 trucks)
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1 Specialist infantry battalion (motorcycles, mounted infantry, dog handlers, trackers)
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1 Anti-aircraft regiment (twin 35 mm)
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1 Intelligence regiment
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7 Engineer regiments of various types.
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1 Construction regiment
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2 Field workshops
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1 Artillery regiment (G6, G5 and Bateleur)
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2 Maintenance units (logistic support/transport)
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The internal stability force is commanded through one regional headquarters (Soutpansberg Military Area in the Northern Province and 19 Group Headquarters, which draw on a mix of full-time infantry battalions and reserve rear area security units (commandos) for troops.
The Army’s reserve force is virtually defunct, not having received new recruits in useful numbers
for several years. The intention is to revitalize at least some of the reserve units.
Air Force (SAAF)
The Air Force is organized into “system groups”, which serve the same purpose as the Army’s“type formations”. There are seven system groups: Education, Training and Development, Combat Systems (fighters and tanker/EW), Helicopter, Transport and Maritime, Command and Control, Operational Support Systems and Intelligence, and Base Support. The current force comprises:
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1 Fighter squadron (Cheetah C, to be replaced by Gripens)
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1 Lead-in fighter squadron (Impala Mk 2, to be replaced by Hawks)
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1 Tanker/EW squadron (Boeing 707)
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1 Combat support helicopter squadron (Rooivalk)
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4 Helicopter squadrons (Oryx, BK117, Alouette III, the latter to be replaced by A109s)
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1 Maritime patrol and transport squadron (C47TP)
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3 Transport squadrons (C130, CN235, C47TP, C212, Cessna Caravan, King Air, PC12, PC6, Cessna 185
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1 VIP squadron (Falcon 900, Falcon 50, Citation II, King Air, Boeing BBJ on order)
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9 Volunteer squadrons flying privately owned aircraft for liaison and utility missions
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A Mobile Deployment Wing provides tactical radar and communications support, and there is a Protection Service of 13 Ground Protection Squadrons and a mobile Task Force. Six Air Servicing Units support the aircraft and deployable systems. There is an air base anti-aircraft defence element with Cactus SAM systems, but this is held at a core training strength only.
The SAAF is to receive four specialised maritime helicopters for operation from the Navy’s four new patrol corvettes.
Navy (SAN)
The Navy’s ships and units all fall into a single“Fleet Command” which has the responsibility of ensuring that they and individual personnel are mission and combat ready. The Navy currently has the following vessels available:
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3 Daphne class (3 Class 209 on order)
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6 Warrior class strike craft (3 in reserve, 4 A200 patrol corvettes on order)
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4 River class mine-hunters
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4 Class 351 mine-sweepers (plus 2 in reserve)
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1 Combat Support Ship
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1 Logistic Support Vessel
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1 Hydrographic Survey Vessel
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1 Diving Tender
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3 Inshore Patrol Vessels (22 m)
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28 Harbour Patrol Boats (9 m)
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8 Fast Landing Craft (8 m)
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Special Forces Brigade
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The Special Forces Brigade has two operational units and a support unit:
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4 Special Forces Regiment is the maritime operations unit
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5 Special Forces Regiment is the airborne operations unit and also specialises in training and operating with allied forces.
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1 Maintenance Unit is the logistic support unit of the Brigade.
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Military Health Service
The SAMHS has organized its operating elements into five“formations: The Tertiary Military Health Formation, which controls the three Military Hospitals, the Institute for Aviation Medicine, the Institute for Maritime Medicine and the Military Psychological Institute; the Area Military Health Formation, which controls nine Area Military Health Units that cover the nine provinces and administer the Base Hospitals and Sick Bays at units; the Mobile Military Health Formation, which controls two standing Medical Battalion Groups (7, 8) and three reserve Medical Battalion Groups (1,3,6); the Military Health Training Formation; and the Military Health Support Formation.
7 Medical Battalion Group is a specialised unit that supports the special and airborne forces and also provides medical support to the Department of Foreign Affairs and other government bodies. The other medical battalion groups are organized to support Army formations in the field, and comprise ambulance and field hospital elements with the full range of capabilities required in an operational area, including mobile “containerised” field hospitals.
The Logistic Support Formation
The Logistic Support Formation is responsible for providing deeper level logistic support and for common items such as field kitchens. Its elements include:
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The DoD Technical Support Unit, which includes the Technical Services Training Centre
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The DoD Mobilisation Centre
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The DoD Main Ordnance Depot and sub-depots
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The DoD Ammuniction Depot, the Ammunition School, and sub-depots
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The DoD Air Supply Unit
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The DoD School of Catering
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The DoD School of Logistic Training
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The formation’s reserve component comprises three maintenance units, four field workshops and a reception depot.
Command and Management Information Systems Formation
The CMI formation has six directorates: Enterprise Information Systems Architecture, Information and Communications (Tels) Technology Systems, Static CMI Systems, Deployable CMI Systems, Resource Management, and Reserve Forces.
The formation’s units comprise:
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A signals regiment responsible for providing deployable signals units and elements for the Army’s brigades and independent units.
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A signals regiment responsible for providing static signals services, general SANDF mobile communications and DoD network management.
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A signals regiment responsible for all EW other than SAAF and SAN-unique EW.
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A reserve signals regiment, which controls several reserve force signals units.
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An electronic workshop responsible for field, intermediate and depot-level repair.
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The School of Signals
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A CMI Support Group, which is responsible for general logistic services to the formation.
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Armscor
Armscor serves as the acquisition agency of the Department of Defence, with responsibility for programme management and the drafting of tender documentation. Armscor also operates some test & evaluation and research facilities for the DoD.
Bases
There is a large joint services base at Thaba Tswane outside Pretoria.
The Army has major bases at Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Durban, Kimberley, Ladysmith, Lothala, Nelspruit, Kroonstad, Oudtshoorn, Pietersburg, Port Elizabeth, Potchefstroom and Youngsfield. The largest of these is the Tempe base outside Bloemfontein, which is home to 44 Parachute Regiment, an armoured car regiment, an infantry battalion and the School of Armour.
Most of the other bases house single units or a corps school and a unit and other elements of that type formation. The Combat Training Centre at Lohatla is also home to a mechanized battalion group.
The Air Force has air bases at Louis Trichardt in the Northern Province, Hoedspruit in Mpumalanga, Pretoria (Waterkloof), Bloemfontein, Cape Town and Durban, and the Central Flying School at Langebaanweg to the northwest of Cape Town. There are Forward Air Command Posts in the other major cities and at the Combat Training Centre.
The Navy has its main naval base and dockyard at Simon’s Town near Cape Town, and a naval station with basic dockyard facilities at Durban. It has a training centre at Saldanha Bay to the northwest of Cape Town. There are reserve bases in Cape Town, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth, as well as at Simon’s Town and in Johannesburg and Pretoria.
The Military Health Service has full-scale military hospitals in Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein, and smaller base hospitals and sick bays in most other SANDF bases. Its Institute for Maritime Medicine, which also specialises in diving medicine, is in Simon’s Town.
The various supporting formations are mainly centred on the Pretoria area, with smaller units and elements in the other provinces to support the other services.
Defence Budget
The amount budgeted for defence in the 2001/02 financial year was R15 803 million, which is
?% of the GDP. Defence funding for the next two financial years has been set as R 16 835 million and R 17 898 million.
Defence spending fell by some 50% in real terms between 1989 and 2000, which has left the armed forces facing a serious funding shortfall and an ever-growing block obsolescence problem. The latter is being partly addressed by the“strategic packages” announced in 1998, which will see the SANDF receive four A200 patrol corvettes, three Class 209 submarines, 28 Gripen multi-role fighters, 24 Hawk lead-in fighter-trainers and 30 A109 light utility helicopters. The total set of contracts will cost some R 25.3 billion in 1999 Rands, plus interest on amounts not settled in cash. The packages will be paid for between 2000/01 and the 2011/12 financial years.
The defence budget is divided into“programmes” rather than by service. The breakdown for the 2001/02 budget is:
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Landward Defence
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R 3 610 million
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Air Defence
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R 1 948 million
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Maritime Defence
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R 945 million
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Military Health
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R 1 095 million
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Defence Intelligence
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R 184 million
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Command & Control (1)
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R 201 million
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Joint Support (2)
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R 1 628 million
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Administration (3)
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R 403 million
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Special Defence Account (4)
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R 5 810 million
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Notes:
Command and Control essentially comprises the Joint Operations headquarters and staff, the five Regional Joint Task Forces, and the Special Forces Brigade.
Joint Support essentially comprises the Joint Support Division, which includes the Logistics Agency, the Command and Management Information Formation, the Military Police Agency, the Joint Training Formation, and the Service Corps.
Administration covers the Ministry, the Secretariat and Defence Headquarters.
The Special Defence Account is the account through which equipment acquisitions are funded, as is the procurement of munitions and specialised equipment and stores, and some specialist services.
Doctrine
The SANDF must still develop a new comprehensive strategic doctrine, but cannot complete that process until the government has decided what regional security role South Africa is prepared to play. For now, the strategic concept is based on the roles of deterrence and internal stability, with only a minor regional component.
Within that concept, the SANDF is seen as needing to comprise three basic elements: A deterrent force, an internal stability force, and an expeditionary force.
The deterrent force is envisaged as comprising a small standing force and a larger reserve force of units optimised for an operational concept of“high mobility operations”. That concept sees high mobility mechanized forces, long-range artillery and focused air power allowing a small force to be effective in a large theatre. The Air Force will focus on air superiority and interdiction, while the Navy’s focus will be mainly strategic.
The expeditionary force is envisaged as comprising one parachute battalion, two motorised infantry battalions trained for peace support operations, and one mechanized battalion group. The Air Force and Navy will focus on providing transport. This concept is likely to be revised once the government has decided on South Africa’s regional security posture.
The internal stability force will comprise the Regional Joint Task Forces controlling light infantry battalions (regular and reserve) and rear area protection units (reserve force“commandos”). This component will be responsible for border line protection, for internal stability operations in the event of insurrection or an attempt at insurgency, and for operations in support of the police. The Air Force and Navy will provide patrol and airlift support as required. The operational concept will be based on classic doctrine as applied by most armies.
This strategic and doctrinal concept is itself also based on the concept of the current SANDF as a “core force” that is “adequate, appropriate and affordable” in the current circumstances, and will allow for expansion should that become necessary.
Strength
The overall strength of the SANDF is currently around 78 000, although the intention is to cut it to around 75 000. The strength of the individual services is:
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Army:
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43 000, to be cut to 35 000
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Air Force:
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11 000 plus 2 000 civilian staff and 500 Denel personnel permanently assigned
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Navy:
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5 000 plus 3 000 civilian staff
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Health Service:
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8 141
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There is a plan to recruit some 10 000 short service (two year) volunteers into the Army annually, both to provide a core of younger other ranks personnel and to help young unemployed people to bridge the gap between school and finding employment. The service period will include some time given over to adult education and vocational skills training.
The Army has a territorial reserve force (commandos) with a strength of some 71 000, which is mainly employed in police support operations. In wartime it has a rear area protection role. The Army Reserve’s conventional units are currently all at skeleton strength, although some could muster a small headquarters and one or two companies in an emergency. There has not yet been a concerted effort to rebuild the reserve force after the end of conscription cut off its flow of new members. The other services also all have reserve elements, and there is a long-term intention to rebuild the overall reserve component.
Composition
The SANDF was formed in 1994 by amalgamating and integrating the former SADF, the armies of the four independent homelands (Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, Ciskei), the armed wings of the ANC (MK) and PAC (APLA) and elements of the IFP’s self-protection units. The integration process was assisted by a British Military Assistance and Training Team (BMATT), which served as a neutral arbiter in issues such as the recognition of the past training, service experience and ranks of members of the “non-statutory forces” (MK, APLA and SPUs). Despite this there was a degree of friction and dissatisfaction that has not been entirely eliminated.
Overall, however, the process went remarkably smoothly and should be judged a success despite some problems that still exist. The best measure of the long-term success lies in the growing number of junior officers and NCOs who have joined since 1994 and have no political baggage. While some are interested only in “a job”, many have a real interest in the military career and are focused on that rather than the past difficulties. Recruiting is still focused on bringing the SANDF’s ethnic composition in line with that of the country, although some senior officers have already voiced concern at the drop off in whites joining the armed forces.
The current ethnic composition of the SANDF is: 47 000 black, 20 500 white, 9 500 coloured and 959 Asian. There are 15 900 female members of the SANDF, and there is pressure to increase this ratio.
Training
Each of the services handles its own training at all levels, with certain training applicable throughout the armed forces being handled at the joint level, and some technical courses being presented by one service for all personnel who need the particular skill. The Military Academy and the Defence College are joint services establishments responsible for initial officer training and senior defence and national security courses respectively. Other joint service training centres are the School of Signals, the School of Logistics, the Technical Services Training Centre and the College for Educational Training. The SANDF also funds university training for some of its middle-ranking officers who are considered likely to advance to senior rank or who need specific skills such as in the engineering or management field.
Individual members of the SANDF are sent to friendly countries to attend various courses and for certain technical training, in addition to which a small number of officers is sent to be trained for peace support operations by forces with extensive experience in that field.
The SANDF has several foreign officers attending various of its courses on an exchange basis, and has also presented specialised training to SADC armed forces on request. Examples of the latter include flight, diver and de-mining training.
The Army conducts basic training at 3 SAI in Kimberley, junior leader training at the Army Gymnasium in Heidelberg (Gauteng), and staff training at the Army College outside Pretoria. Battle handling training and large-scale field training exercises are conducted at the Combat Training Centre in the Northern Cape. The various type formations have their own schools that provide corps-specific training.
The Air Force conducts basic training and junior leader training at the Air Force Gymnasium, staff training at the Air Force College, and technical training at the School for Technical Training, all of which are outside Pretoria. There are four flying schools, the Central Flying School near Cape Town, 85 Combat Flying School at Hoedspruit in Mpumalanga, the Helicopter Flying School at Bloemfontein, and 80 Air Navigation School at Cape Town. Multi-engine training is conducted by the transport squadrons at AFB Waterkloof outside Pretoria. The Institute for Aviation Medicine trains flight surgeons.
The Navy conducts basic and NCO training at SAS Saldanha and initial officer training at the Naval College, both near Cape Town, and staff training at the Naval Staff College in Cape Town. All other training is centralized at the Naval Base in Simon’s Town.
The Military Health Service conducts basic training at its School for Military Training, and offers advanced training at the School for Military Health Training, the SAMHS Nursing College, and the SAMHS Senior Command and Staff School.
Main Equipment
Army Equipment
· Main Battle Tanks Olifant Mk 1A and Mk 1B
· Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles Rooikat 76
· Eland-90 (most phased out)
· Infantry Combat Vehicle Ratel-20 and Ratel-60, Ratel-90 FSV, Ratel-ZT3 tank destroyer, Ratel-81 mortar carrier, Ratel-command
· Armoured Personnel Carriers Buffel, Casspir and Mamba (mine-protected APCs)
· Okapi (mine-protected EW, artillery command)
· Fast Attack Vehicles BAT
· Self-Propelled Guns 155 mm G6
· Towed Guns 155 mm G5
· Self-Propelled Rocket Launchers 127 mm Bateleur (40 tube) and Visarend (24 tube)
· Heavy Mortars 120 mm Soltam
· Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Guns Bosvark twin 23 mm, Ystervark 20 mm in reserve
· Towed Anti-Aircraft Guns Oerlikon twin 35 mm
· Anti-Aircraft Command Radar ESR-220 Kameelperd
· Anti-tank Missiles ZT-35 laser guided and Milan wire-guided
Engineering Equipment Chubby mine-detection vehicle system
· Olifant and Leguan mobile bridge layers
· Folding floating bridge and medium girder bridge
· Combat engineer tractors
· Air Force Equipment
· Fighters 34 Cheetah C (to be replaced with 28 Gripen)
· Attack Helicopters 12 Rooivalk (phasing in)
· Maritime Patrol Aircraft 11 C-47TP (being modified)
· EW/Tanker Aircraft 4 Boeing 707
· Transport Aircraft 12 C-130, 1 CN-235, 4 C-212, 11 C-47TP
· 12 Caravan, 4 King Air, 1 PC-12, 1 Boeing 707
· Utility Aircraft 23 Cessna 185, 1 PC-6, 1 Islander
· VIP Aircraft 1 Boeing BBJ, 1 Falcon 900, 3 Falcon 50, 2 Citation
· Transport Helicopters 50 Oryx
· Utility Helicopters 1 0 BK-117, 46 Alouette III (to be replaced with 30 A109)
· Training Aircraft 12 Impala Mk 2, 12 Impala Mk 1, 57 PC-7 Mk 2
· (24 Hawk to replace Impalas)
· Air-to-Air Missiles V4R radar guided, V3C IR-homing
· Stand-Off Weapons Raptor 2 TV-guided boosted bomb
· Raptor 1 TV-guided glide bomb
· Guided Bombs Laser marked target seeking bombs
· Air-to-Ground missiles Ingwe on Rooivalk, Mokopa (in development)
· Bombs Mk 81 and Mk 82 boosted and standard
· Mk 82 retarded
· ADBS-145 boosted area denial bombs
· Cluster bombs
· Surface-to-Air Missiles Cactus (mainly in reserve)
· Ground Radars Plessey AR3D, TMR gap fillers, mobile air traffic control radars
Navy Equipment
· Submarines 3 Daphne class (3 Class 209 on order)
· Surface Combatants 6 Warrior class strike craft (3 in reserve)
· (4 A200 patrol corvettes on order)
· Mine-Countermeasures Vessels 4 River class mine-hunters
· 4 Class 351 mine-sweepers (2 in reserve)
· Combat Support Ship SAS Drakensberg
· Logistic Support Vessel SAS Outeniqua (Ro-Ro and heavy cranes)
· Hydrographic Survey Vessel SAS Protea
· Diving Tender SAS Fleur
· Inshore Patrol Vessels 3 T-craft (22 m)
· Harbour Patrol Boats 28 Namacurra (9 m)
· Fast Landing Craft 8 Delta 80 (8 m)
Latest Procurement
The main current procurement programmes are those of the strategic packages, discussed above.
In addition, the Navy has acquired six second-hand Class 351 mine-countermeasures vessels from Germany, to the used as sea training ships, and the Air Force has acquired a Boeing BBJ to serve as the presidential jet. The Air Force is also currently bringing the Rooivalk combat support helicopter and the V4 medium-range air-to-air missile into service.
The only major new acquisition project outside the packages that is currently in hand, is the first phase of an Army ground-based air defence system (GBADS). This first phase will comprise one battery of man-portable SAMs and an accompanying early warning and command system. The full GBADS system will see the Army acquire additional MANPADS, a SHORAD gun system and the related radars and command systems. The Army is currently continuing with acquisition of the AS2000 artillery target engagement system, which includes a UAV sub-system, and two smaller programmes to acquire air-droppable utility vehicles for the Special Forces Brigade and the Parachute Regiment.
Several major Army equipment programmes are planned to commence after 2010, including a new ICV, a new APC, a new anti-tank missile and new logistic vehicles.
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