Some soldiers retrenched without retraining used their combat skills in crimes such as cash heists, a military trade union said on Friday.
”When soldiers are retrenched with a programme like the Defence Department’s human resource plan and they are not retrained, they use their skills to take part in crimes like cash heists,” said South African Security Forces Union (Sasfu) official Lindiwe Nkoko.
She was speaking to journalists in Pretoria about Sasfu’s concerns about the low representation of black soldiers in the South African National Defence Force’s (SANDF) middle management.
Nkoko said only through the retraining of retrenched soldiers and ensuring that more black soldiers are in managerial positions will the instance of trained former soldiers taking part in crime decrease.
She said the human resource plan has been explained to soldiers as a method of ”revitalising” the ageing defence force.
”What is basically happening is that older officials leaving the SANDF are being replaced with younger ones, and soldiers who are older than 45 years and not in management positions are next in line to be asked to leave.”
There are some soldiers who have held the same rank for close to 10 years, without been trained or being given a promotion, Nkoko said.
She said the top management of the SANDF has black people who initiate progressive reforms for transformation.
”But the problem is that between them and the majority of soldiers are white management who do not implement these plans.”
The union said soldiers who want to take part in a Congress of South African Trade Unions march on Monday will be doing so in their private capacity.
”Sasfu is not affiliated with Cosatu but those of our members who wish to strike may do so as private citizens,” said Nkoko.
She said Sasfu has never taken a decision to strike, explaining that Cosatu decided to march on the military union’s behalf after attending a Sasfu meeting earlier this year.
Sasfu members are advised to ”cover themselves” by taking leave if they intend to strike on Monday.
Nkoko said Sasfu has more than 10 000 members countrywide. — Sapa