M A Y 2 0 1 2 • S A S O L D I E R - Department of Defence

S A S O L D I E R 2012 review of defenceWork of the Defence Reviewopened to the publicBy Ms Bibi SibanyoniPhoto: Cpl Itumeleng MakhubelaThe Chairperson of the DefenceReview Committee, Mr RoelfMeyer, handed over the fifthphase of the progress report,also called the consultative draft2012, to the Minister of Defenceand Military Veterans, Ms LindiweSisulu, at the CSIR Convention Centrein Pretoria on 12 April 2012.Members of the National Press Clubengaged with Minister Sisulu andthe Defence Review Committee onthe progress made thus far. Ms Sisuluintroduced the Chairperson of theDefence Review Committee, Mr RoelfMeyer, who was a former Ministerof Defence. Mr Meyer said: “Weare excited to present this 420 pagedocument to Minister Sisulu and areproud of the work done, which willclarify the final product. This is a longreport, which took 14 years to review,and it will be a guideline for the next 30years.”Mr Meyer added that it was importantthat the Defence Review be reviewedto meet the demands of today’sdevelopmental state. The Defence ReviewCommittee also plans to present thereview in three categories by meansof Izimbizos in all nine provinces toallow input by members of the public.The starting point will be in KwaZulu-Natal on 21 April 2012 and will becommunicated in the social media, egfacebook and twitter to create a platformacross generational barriers to engagekey stakeholders, as well as consultationswith defence partners and communities.Minister Sisulu echoed the message thatthis Defence Review was for everyoneand people should be at liberty to engagein it. She called for partnershipwith the media and asked that theyjoin hands and educate the broaderpublic about the role of the NationalDefence Force. She said: “Peopleshould familiarise themselves withthe review, which is on the website,so that we educate and engage inmeaningful debates on defenceissues. However, it is still to beapproved in Parliament, to which wewill be presenting our first phase on18 April 2012 on progress thus far.”One of the main responsibilities ofthe Defence Review Committee is toinvestigate the possibility of Armscorand the Defence acquisition reportingto the Secretary for Defence, Dr SamGulube, who is the accounting officerof the Department of Defence.* For more information visit the website:www.sadefencereview2012.orgFront, fltr: Lt Gen Vusi Masondo, the then Acting Chief of the SANDF, Mr Roelf Meyer, the Chairpersonof the Defence Review Committee, Ms Lindiwe Sisulu, the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, andDr Sam Gulube, the Secretary for Defence, with members of the Defence Review Committee.8 • M A Y 2 0 1 2