MINISTRY OF DEFENCE AND MILITARY VETERANS
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO.: 145
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 16 MARCH 2012
Mr K A Sinclair (COPE-NC) to ask the Minister of Defence and Military
Veterans:
(1) Whether her department has received any communication regarding
the instability of the army ammunition depot at Jan Kempdorp; if
not, what is the position in this regard; if so,
(2) whether her department has (a) acknowledged receipt of such
communication and (b) undertaken an in depth inspection of the
ammunition depot; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant
details in each case;
(3) whether her department has taken any steps to ensure the safety
of residents in the event of an accident; if not, why not; if
so, (a) how many complainants have been acknowledged, (b) what
was the opinion of the experts regarding the safety and
stability of the depot and (c) to what extent will the residents
of the area avoid becoming victims?
CW195E
REPLY
(1) Yes. The Office of Secretary for Defence received communication
regarding the instability of the army ammunition depot at Jan
Kempdorp on the 15 February 2010. There is currently no threat
in respect of high volume of unserviceable ammunition in storage
at 93 Ammunition Depot (Jan Kempdorp). The unstable ammunition
that was stored at the depot was demolished by means of open
detonation at Vastrap Range near Upington during November and
December 2005.
(2) (a) Yes. The Acting Secretary for Defence acknowledged receipt
of such communication.
(b) Periodical inspections are done by qualified inspectors on
all ammunition in storage at 93 Ammunition Depot. Unstable
ammunition is identified for demolition during these inspections
and it is disposed of.
All ammunition in field storage was removed and placed in
ammunition storage facilities, which was inspected and licensed
by the ammunition inspectors. All ammunition is kept in safe
licensed storage.
During 2010 a quantity of seven-hundred-and-eighty-eight (788)
lightening conductors were inspected at the depot and one-
hundred-and-thirty-two (132) were found to be non-conforming.
These conductors were repaired and conformity certificates were
issued.
The last large scale of disposal at 93 Ammunition Depot was the
AS 30 missile war heads and the white phosphorus that was
demolished on 26 January 2012 at Duncan Demolishing Range.
(3) To ensure the safety of the civilian population who moved to
close proximity of the depot (within 2km effective range of the
ammunition), nine (9) magazines were curtailed. Two (2)
magazines were down scaled from 200 000kg to 15 000kg of
explosives. One (1) magazine was reduced from 20 000kg to 15
000kg of explosives and the remaining six (6) magazines were
reduced with 1 000kg of explosives each.
(a) One complaint was received.
(b) The DODâs ammunition inspectors are satisfied with
the safety standards of 93 Ammunition Depot.
(c) Residents were advised to maintain a distance of at
least 2km away from the ammunition depot in order to
ensure their safety at all times.
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