Defence Force Service Commission 2022/23 Annual Activity Report

Meeting report

Opening remarks
The Chairperson welcomed the members to the meeting and said the Committee would consider and adopt its Draft fourth-term programme and receive a briefing from the Defence Force Service Commission (DFSC), as well as feedback from the Minister of Defence on engagements with the DFSC and on the way forward for the Commission given the threshold status of military unions. The Minister’s feedback is important regarding this matter because there could be an overlap of mandates between the military unions and the DFSC and the Minister must provide a way forward to avoid clashes which may result in unnecessary competition or conflict between the two bodies.

Apologies from the Minister and Deputy Minister of Defence were noted, as they were attending the Lohatla fire matter in the Northern Cape.

The Chairperson said this suggests that the feedback from the Minister would need to be dropped unless there was representation from the Department that was sent by the Minister to provide it.

Mr D Ryder (DA, Gauteng) was concerned about how much of the meeting the Committee would be able to proceed with, considering the absence of the Minister and Deputy Minister and asked for the Chairperson’s guidance in that regard.

The Chairperson asked Mr Ryder to repeat his comment as he could not hear it because of connection problems.

Mr S Marais (DA) said Mr Ryder was concerned that with the absence of the Minister and Deputy Minister in the meeting, the feedback on the engagements with DFSC could not be done in the meeting. He then suggested that the feedback from the Minister be postponed to another meeting.

The Chairperson and members agreed to move the item to another meeting.

Fourth-Term Committee Programme

The Chairperson read through the proposed draft fourth-term programme of the Committee.

Mr Ryder pointed out that next week’s programme for the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) was confirmed earlier that day. The 16-19 Provincial Week as indicated in the Committee Programme was not correct. The NCOP already had its Provincial Week. Members were available next week in case they wanted to deal with item 5.

The Chairperson noted Mr Ryder’s comment and asked whether the NCOP Taking Parliament to the People (TPTTP) scheduled for 13-17 October has been confirmed.

Mr Ryder said the NCOP will not be undertaking the TPTTP, and it will be a normal week of programming. He added this should not be taken as an issue of the Committee staff, as the programme was only confirmed earlier in the day.

The Chairperson asked that the programme be adopted subject to the changes mentioned by Mr Ryder.

Mr Maris suggested that the Joint Standing Committee do an oversight visit to the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) towards the end of November given the challenges it faces.

The Chairperson asked that it be noted by Committee staff.

Ms T Legwase (ANC) suggested that the programme must not be adopted in the meeting but rather edited to accommodate the information and suggestions made by Mr Ryder and Mr Marais and it could be adopted in the Committee’s next meeting.

The Chairperson asked if members agreed that the draft programme would be accepted as a working document.

The members agreed and the draft programme was accepted as a working document.

Dr Wilhelm Janse Van Vuuren, Committee Researcher, asked if members would want to have a meeting next week to adopt the draft programme, considering the information provided by Mr Ryder.

Ms Legwase agreed.

The Chairperson said the Committee will consider and adopt its revised draft fourth term programme and receive feedback from the Minister of Defence on engagements with the DFSC.

Defence Force Service Commission (DFSC) 2022/23 Annual Activity Report

Mr Ian Robertson, Chairperson, DFSC, briefed the Committee on the DFSC’s Annual Activity Report for the 2022/23 Financial Year.

The DFSC did not execute some of its planned strategic activities during the period under review. This includes conducting consultative and follow-up visits to the Bases and Units. The aim of the consultative and follow-up visits to Military Bases and Units is to pursue and determine whether the findings and recommendations made by the Commission have been implemented and to further establish to what extent similar issues to those already observed at other Military Units and Bases could be identified.

The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans committed on 11 August 2022 to hold quarterly meetings with the DFSC as well as key stakeholders with the aim of resolving some of the identified challenges. The challenge of the DFSC to effectively execute its legislated mandate is due to misaligned core structure (researchers) and the cost containment measures on the expansion and upgrading of posts by NT. The structure remains unable to render effective, efficient, and economical administrative support to the DFSC and as such impacts negatively on the achievement of its legislated and strategic objectives.

On its mitigating strategies, the DFSC commenced the process of re-evaluating the structure of its Secretariat with the assistance of the Directorate Integrated Management Systems (DIMS) to address the capacity challenges. However, the Secretariat continues to adopt the practice of double hatting as a way of mitigating the incapacity gaps. The reviewed Secretariat structure will be dependent on the approval by the MOD&MV when finalised. The Commission further requested the assistance of detached SANDF members with specific skill sets to augment some functions.

Regarding the financial performance of the DFSC, Mr Robertson said the DFSC surrendered R1.6 million which is 27,53% of its Operational Budget during the reporting period. The factors that contributed to the amount surrendered included the difficulty of the DFSC to conduct consultative visits for 2022/23 due to the challenges experienced with the Department of Defence/South African National Defence Force (DOD/SANDF), as well as the cancellation of the procurement processes for the DFSC website, which was projected to cost R1.5 million.

The DFSC had no audits performed on the performance information provided for in the AAR FY2021/22 by the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA). The Internal Audit Division (IAD) of the DOD conducted an ad-hoc audit on compliance with HR processes by the DFSC in December 2022. The IAD made findings on some of the inadequate controls in place to guide certain processes and procedures which resulted in non-compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and departmental policies. The audit report was concluded in February 2023. The DFSC subsequently developed an action plan for implementation, to address the findings and the recommendations.

(See Presentation)

Discussion
The Chairperson said he noted that the DFSC wanted to visit certain military bases but due to delays in receiving the necessary signal from the Chief of the SANDF, that did not happen. Mr Robertson also suggested that the delay has been cleared between the DFSC and the SANDF Chief, meaning that the visits will happen within the current financial year. Had the visit to the military bases been done by the DFSC, considering that it is currently in the middle of the 2023/24 financial year, and the report was for the 2022/23 financial year? If the visits had not been done, when are they planned?

The DFSC’s last meeting with the Minister was on the 11th of August in 2022, and the DFSC suggested that there is a solution to that challenge, is this a solution that was accepted by the Minister? If the solution was not accepted by the Minister, how will the DFSC resolve that because they were appointed to make recommendations to the Minister based on their assigned mandate? Does the DFSC receive any feedback from the Minister based on the recommendations they make?

Mr Marais said it would be important to resolve the issue of the quarterly meetings with the Minister not being held because if it is not resolved, it will create a vacuum that will exacerbate all the problems. The role of the DFSC is to look at the well-being and best interests of the soldiers. The Committee received several complaints about the change in the conditions of the medical funds, wherein some claim that they have been appointed in some form of a contract whereas the medical benefit will always be included in their remuneration, but it seems like they will need to pay a specific premium or shortfall, and many of them said they would not be able to afford that. How does the DFSC deal with such matters and how would they resolve them?

The Mobility Exit Mechanism (MEM) was initially premised on having a reduction of the cost of employees (COE) in the Defence Force, but that does not seem to be happening. How does the DFSC deal with MEM complaints and the best interests of the soldiers? What inputs were provided by the DFSC to the Minister and the DOD on addressing National Treasury’s call to lower the COE significantly? The Minister indicated that the DOD is working on a plan to restructure the Defence Force and to have a replacement of the 2015 Defence Review Policy document. As the DFSC works in the best interest of the soldiers, it is expected that they would have been requested to make an input or at least on their own accord as a Commission that works on behalf of the soldiers, they would have made an input on the matter on their own. What is the stance and position of the DFSC on these matters and were they shared with the Department and the Minister?

Mr Robertson said the DFSC has had about five or six visits to the military bases so far already. The first one was in July to Infantry School in Oudtshoorn, then the Naval Base in KZN, the 5 South African Infantry Battalion in Ladysmith, the Joint Tactical Headquarters in Durban, as well as some of the operational areas on the Southern Border of Eswatini in Pongola. The DFSC also visited Lewatla, and the last visit was about three weeks ago at the Warrant Officers Academy in Wonderboom. All the visits that were planned for the current financial year have been concluded and will be reported on the 2023/24 Annual Report.

Regarding the interactions with the Minister, he said the DFSC wrote about five letters to the Minister requesting meetings and was told that it was being looked at, but it never received a favourable response from the Office of the Minister confirming that they would meet on a specific date. This places the DFSC in a difficult spot as it seeks the advice of the Minister. The last meeting the DFSC had with the Minister in August last year was useful, but the Commission needs to understand the Minister’s thinking on many issues, and this remains an outstanding matter.

Mr Philly Motsepe, Director, DFSC, said the issue regarding the medical fund is related to the regular medical continuation and it has been raised with the DFSC and it forms part of the DFSC’s continued investigation in trying to ensure that issues raised by members of the SANDF are dealt with. There is no conclusive answer to Mr Marais’ question, but there is a matter that was brought to the attention of the DFSC, and they are investigating it, and after all the information is collated, the DFSC will submit a recommendation to the Minister. That also includes the issue regarding the contribution that soldiers are required to make at a pensionable age for them to receive medical treatment which is unaffordable for them.

Mr Robertson said it might be useful for the Committee to request the Regular Force Medical Continuation Fund Board to make a presentation as the DSFC is not a member of that Board.

Mr Motsepe said the DFSC has never received any complaints pertaining to the issues that result from the administration of MEM, but the challenge they picked up regarding the administration of MEM is that those who apply for MEM in the Department are the ones that the Department would not want to lose, as they possess the required skillset. There also seems to be some selective recommendations to the members who have applied for MEM, but the DFSC has not received any formal complaints on the matter, but it is one of the issues that the DFSC closely monitors.

Mr Thabo Magubane, ASD: Total Rewards Management, DFSC, said the DFSC aligned its strategic plan to be in line with what the Minister intends to do so that it can provide relevant and effective advice to her. Regarding the Medical Continuation Fund, the DFSC had engaged with the Principal Officer of the fund, but there are several issues surrounding the fund that cannot be dealt with as a single issue, so the DFSC is still looking at the different components that contributed. For example, the issue of the increase in the premiums had a lot to do with the Regular Force Medical Continuation Fund not having enough funds and was near collapse. Once all the investigations are done, the DFSC will report back to the Minister and the Committee.

Dr Ziyaad Essop, Commissioner, DFSC said that based on the DFSC’s reports last year, there were certain factors identified wherein the Commission attempted to set up a meeting with National Treasury to address some of the issues that they identified and to bring some departments and divisions of the DOD within that workshop. The meeting was set up to be a workshop, but it was unfortunately cancelled.

Mr Marais said a lot of the issues seem like they are still a work in progress and asked that the DFSC send some information to the Committee in writing on the kind of information and proposals they have made to the Minister. He said the Minister and all the Members of Parliament (MPs) only have a few months left and none of them are certain they will come back after the elections, not even the Minister. He requested that the DFSC properly note what it wants to do going forward because it will have to be picked up and followed up on in the next term. He also added that it was a good suggestion that the Committee must invite the Regular Force Medical Continuation Fund Board to present to it on their challenges and how they are resolving their challenges.

The Chairperson agreed with Mr Marais that the DFSC must compile a legacy report of the issues they have faced thus far and their responses to the issue so that whoever comes in in the 7th Parliament after the elections can be able to follow up.

Mr Robertson agreed.

The Chairperson said it was strange that the Committee had not invited the DFSC to appear before it in the current financial year and said it would be prudent to have them in the meeting where the Minister will be providing feedback on her engagements with the DFSC and Military Unions. He then asked if there were any potential conflicts between the DFSC and Military Unions.

Mr Roberson said there are very distinct roles and responsibilities between the DFSC and the Military Bargaining Council, and in a sense, they complement each other, but that needs to be explained more so that the Minister, the Commission, and the Bargaining Council, and other involved bodies understand it in the same way. Therefore, it is important to hear the Minister’s thinking about the matter so that it can be understood and clarified.

Dr Essop said there are certain aspects where there is an overlap between the DFSC and Bargaining Council’s roles, but there is no direct overlap in most aspects where the DFSC is involved. There are also presentations that demarcate the various roles and responsibilities of the two entities were prepared and they can be shared with the Committee.

Mr K Motsamai (EFF, Gauteng) supported the idea that soldiers must have unions so that they can have someone to stand for their issues.

The Chairperson asked when the Committee can expect to receive a report on the DFSC’s findings on its visits to military bases.

Mr Robertson said when the DFSC last met with the Military Command Council (MCC), they indicated it would be good for the DFSC to sit with them and present their findings and once they have done that, a report will be finalised and sent to the Minister.

Mr Motsepe said the information brief to the MCC will be on the first week of November, and then the consolidated final comprehensive report will be submitted to the Minister during the month of November, and the submission to the Minister will indicate the conclusion of the report, which it can thereafter be made available to the Committee.

The Chairperson said the Committee will await the conclusion of the report so that when it receives it, it will have received the inputs from both the MCC and the Minister.

Mr Motsepe said the round of visits they conducted were follow-up visits, as the DFSC had already conducted the first phase visits to the units they visited. The second phase visits were to assess the progress made on the recommendations made by the DFSC to the military bases in the first phase and if there were new challenges that arose.

The Chairperson thanked the DFSC for their engagement and presentation and allowed them to exit the meeting.

Committee Minutes

Mr Marais moved for the adoption of the minutes and was seconded by Mr I Mafanya (EFF).

The meeting was adjourned.