Cde Lindiwe is now living in another planet, her attitude was really uncalled for and it undermined the legitimacy of the grievances of the members of the defence force. The minister failed dismally to trigger a debate on the representation of the members of the defence force within the force instead she became very arrogant as a result she was humiliated by the court
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of KGALE GODFREY MAILA Sent: 02 October 2009 08:12 AM To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: [YCLSA Discussion] Re: Discipline a major priority This woman [Lindiwe Sisulu] has proclaimed herself some sort of a "super minister". Her views clearly undermines a spirit of open engagement: a platform that has been established by a consequence of Polokwane. She has become very arrogant. I think Malema must take her hands on. Soldiers are workers, period! Funky Mpumalanga >>> [email protected] 10/01/09 6:57 PM >>> <!--[if !vml ]--><!--[endif]--> Discipline a major priority Lindiwe Sisulu, The Star, 1 October 2009 THE ANNOUNCEMENT of the establishment of the South African National Defence Force Commission (SANDFC) has elicited a number of responses. Unfortunately most of them are ill-informed. To start with, the conceptualisation of the commission precedes the illegal strike by the soldiers. Secondly, a suggestion that government and the ANC intend to subvert the constitution or the determination of the Constitutional Court with regard to representation of the soldiers is misleading and uninformed. It is true however that the events of the march have led us to rethink the issue of the unions in the military. The president as commander-in-chief has boldly expressed a view shared by many South Africans on this matter. By their very nature unions are political. Their presence in the military creates two problems. First they would undermine the command and control structure in the defence force. Secondly, they would create another centre of authority which could work against that of the Chief of the Defence Force and the Commander-in-Chief. No self-respecting country can allow this. I have made a number of public commitments. Prominently was to establish a good and strong working relationship and dynamic partnership with the Portfolio Committee on Defence. The second was to look at the condition of service of members of the defence force. I explicitly stated that "we are seized with the matter and I would like to engage each one of them through the proper management structures to see how we can attend to these. We are acutely aware that the state of readiness of the SANDF depends primarily on the morale of our soldiers." I am stating these commitments to underscore the fact that the illegal strike by members of the South African National Defence Union (Sandu) was unnecessary, irresponsible and mischievous. Firm steps have been taken to deal with behaviour to ensure that discipline in the Defence Force remains a defining feature. To address the unhappy relationship between the public service and the environment of the defence force of command and control, I indicated in my budget vote that I was considering making a separate dispensation for the Defence Force. The need for such a dispensation was succinctly articulated by the president in his observation that "there are few components of the state which have such a high calling; which demands selflessness, bravery in the face of danger, the highest levels of discipline and absolute loyalty to the constitution... The discipline of the SANDF must at all times be kept at the highest professional standards to ensure the public's confidence in the SANDF's ability to protect and defend the people and the interest of the Republic of South Africa." Definite steps have been undertaken towards those commitments. The establishment of this SANDF Service Commission is the latest in a series of steps aimed at this objective. The SANDF Service Commission has precedence. During my tenure as Minister of Intelligence, we crafted a separate dispensation for the Intelligence Services in appreciation and acknowledgement of the distinctive role they play in society. The defence force is not any different. Indeed, it was recognition of this distinction that legislators determined that the Labour Relations Act should not be applicable to the army, the Intelligence and Secret Services. So, the suggestion that the ministry wants to subvert the constitution and the law is baseless. The National Defence Force Service Commission will assist us to address expeditiously matters affecting the SANDF so that our national security is never compromised. In appointing this commission, I have been mindful of the provisions of the Constitution and section 2 of the Defence Act, 2002. While the creation of the National Defence Force Service Commission does not fall within the provisions of sub-section 2(a) of the act, as it does not relate to the formulation and execution of defence policy which is subject to the authority of Parliament and the national executive, I have decided to consult the Portfolio Committee on Defence and to seek its guidance and assistance on the creation of this Commission, in view of the national importance of this issue. The Portfolio Committee was briefed on Tuesday, September 15 2009 about my plans and undertook to discuss various aspects of this matter, including the composition of, and the appointment of, the members of the commission. Given the enormity of this task, we sought the guidance and assistance of an impartial commission as well as Parliament to help us formulate appropriate regulations, which will regulate these matters, until such time as the Defence Act is properly amended to make provision for a permanent National Defence Force Service Commission, which will be responsible for considering the issues which affect members of the Defence Force. The commission will interact with the Council of Defence and brief it on its work from time to time. It must also interact with the soldiers through the due protocols. This will enable the commission to make appropriate recommendations to the executive. The commission was not set up to take the place of unions. It is established to oversee a separate dispensation for the defence force - a matter that the Defence Force has advocated for the last 10 years. As for Zwelinzima Vavi and Cosatu, it is clear that they need some educating. And I will offer my services in this regard. Lindiwe Sisulu is the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. <!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--> This message and any attachments may be confidential and may also be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. They are sent for the attention of the named addressee(s) only. If you are not the named addressee(s) please notify the sender immediately and destroy this message. In this case, you should not copy or distribute this message or attachments, use it for any purpose or disclose its contents to any other person. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of Hibiscus Coast Municipality shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by it. Emails cannot be guaranteed to be secure or free of errors or viruses. The sender does not accept any liability or responsibility for any interception, corruption, destruction, loss, late arrival or incompleteness of or tampering or interference with any of the information contained in this email or for its incorrect delivery or non-delivery for whatsoever reason or for its effect on any electronic device of the recipient. ##################################################################################### This e-mail message has been scanned for Viruses and Content and cleared by MailMarshal ##################################################################################### --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
