Deputy Speaker and members, all eligible members of the former uMkhonto weSizwe, the SA Defence Force, SADF, and the Azanian People's Liberation Army, APLA, whose names and other particulars were included in the certified personnel register, have been integrated into the SA National Defence Force in terms of the provisions of the Termination of Integration Intake Act, Act 44 of 2001.
The integration process officially terminated on the agreed completion date, as envisaged in the Termination of Integration Intake Act of 2001, which was 31 March 2002. A total of 82 705 members of the former SADF, a total of 15 071 of the former uMkhonto weSizwe and a total of 6 316 members of the former Azanian People's Liberation Army have integrated into the SA National Defence Force. No members of the Azanian People's Organisation have been integrated into the SA National Defence Force. I thank you.
Ngiyabonga Sekela Somlomo, bengicela ukubuza kuNgqongqoshe ukuthi uma sebefakiwe emasosheni sebedidiyelwe, bayabuyela yini emuva bagqoke izivatho zabo ezindala na? Uma bekwenza lokho, bakwenza ngaphansi kwamuphi umthetho? Ngiyabonga. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[Mr V B NDLOVU: Thank you Deputy Speaker. I would like to ask this from the hon Minister, after having been integrated into the SA National Defence Force; do they go back and wear their old uniform? If so, under which law do they do it? Thank you.]
Madam Deputy Speaker, I must thank the hon member for the question. According to the code of conduct of the SA National Defence Force, a serving member of the SA National Defence Force is not allowed to wear any other uniform except the official uniform of the SA National Defence Force and that is the practice. I thank you.
Thank you, Deputy Speaker. Deputy Minister, we all know that not all members were integrated. Some refused to be integrated and others were outside the country and were maybe not aware of the integration process. What attempts were made to inform them? I thank you.
Hon Deputy Speaker, those members who have, out of choice, refused to be integrated into the SA National Defence Force cannot become a burden on the government if they are not within the system as we speak today.
With respect to members of former nonstatutory forces who were not integrated, the matter was brought to the attention of the relevant committee of Parliament some time ago and the circumstances under which they were left out of the process were presented to the Portfolio Committee on Defence. It was indicated that there were indeed such bona fide members of nonstatutory forces that were not integrated.
That cohort of former members of the nonstatutory forces has now actually been isolated for attention with respect to the consolidation of the CPR list in putting together the names of those who stand to benefit as military veterans. I thank you.
Thanks very much, Madam Speaker. Comrade Deputy Minister, would the department recognise the South African Cape Corps and the Khoisan Kingdom Self-defence Unit as trained military formations that qualify or can be integrated into the National Defence Force? If not, why not? If so, what are the relevant details, realising that they are not being acknowledged and integrated into a formal institution like the army which has gone on for so long exposing the country to security and possible crime risks. Thanks very much.
Hon Deputy Speaker, according to the definition of who constitutes a military veteran in the Military Veterans Bill before the portfolio committee, former members of the Cape Coloured Corps or any other bona fide South African citizen who was previously in any one of the recognised statutory, former statutory and former nonstatutory forces are entitled to enjoy the status of military veterans, and the Cape Coloured Corps are no different in that respect. They are not defined outside the community of military veterans.
However, for the purposes of integration, as I have just indicated in the question we answered before, the integration process closed on 31 March 2002 and any other member of the statutory forces or nonstatutory forces who did not submit to the integration process at that time will unfortunately not be entertained now. I thank you.
Deputy Speaker, I know that the whole integration process was not an easy task. In fact, seven different forces had to be integrated. But there was one criterion and that was the criterion of choice. People had a choice whether they wanted to join the new SANDF or not. Now in referring to military veterans, my question is as follows: Why didn't we have cutoff dates then, because this cannot be an ongoing process? Actually, what you are trying to address now are those people who had a choice, but did not go into the SANDF, by accommodating them in the new Military Veterans Bill.
We are creating a precedent in this sense. It is the same with the land claims Act. There was a cutoff date. Are we not creating a situation in which because one group is looked at again, other people will come forward and say that if you looked at the military side, you must look at the land claims side as well? Why not respect the cutoff date? Thank you.
Deputy Speaker, it is my understanding that the Ministry and Parliament in their wisdom decided that the integration process could not be an open-ended process; that there had to be a point at which the process could be considered to have been accomplished and that date was 31 March 2002.
However, with respect to the intervention in assisting South Africans who today are destitute and unable to provide for themselves and their families because they were soldiers, it was the view of the Ministry and the view of Cabinet that we could not exclude people. Even at the point at which the integration process was closed, the authorities were aware that there were bona fide members of the nonstatutory forces. They may not have been present or available for very good reasons to subject themselves for integration. Others, if I may give an example, were still out of the country studying because they had received bursaries to pursue their education and could not subject themselves to integration. It was in the wisdom of Cabinet that they should not be penalised for that. Thank you, Deputy Speaker.
Investigation into irregular visit by two police officials to office of Public Protector
32. Mr L Ramatlakane (Cope) asked the Minister of Police:
Whether the investigation into the irregular visit by two police officials to the offices of the Public Protector has been completed; if not, why not; if so, (a) who mandated the police officials to conduct the visit, (b) what was the purpose of the visit, (c) what documents did the police officials retrieve and (d) to which senior officer have these documents been handed?