Hon House Chair, the Defence Amendment Bill seeks to ensure the contingent availability of all Reserve Force personnel at all times, inclusive of peacetime, as well as establish a permanent Defence Force Service Commission. Whilst the IFP strongly supports both of these initiatives, we also wish to raise the following reservations associated therewith.
One, the appointment of the commissioners by the Minister to the Defence Force Service Commission is most irregular, and will not lend itself to an accountable executive. Our country is already faced with enough incongruities regarding accountability in government. Surely, we should be looking at drafting legislation that enhances rather than detracts from an accountable executive.
Two, in terms of the current appalling service conditions faced by our servicemen and -women in the Defence Force, we note that the Defence Force Service Commission has been set up to address exactly these issues, but we urge the Minister to prioritise this aspect of her portfolio and implement immediate corrective actions herein.
Three, the IFP is still waiting, with bated breath, for the opportunity to revisit the issue of military veterans. We need to revisit the issue of the integration process, which left out a number of combatants who had sacrificed their future to join the liberation struggle. In addition, the IFP also believes that we need to relook at the definition of what constitutes a military veteran, so that we ensure that not a single person who contributed to the liberation and democracy of our country is left out.
In conclusion, this Bill is in a sense a natural evolution of our Defence Bill, the amendments seeking to address certain gaps and deficiencies therein. And we, as the IFP, although subject to our reservations as stated before, support the Bill. I thank you.