June - Department of Defence

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eventsSouth Africa goes tothe pollsBy Nomonde VuthelaPhotos: Sgt David NomtshongwanaWhile the different partieswere preoccupied withcampaigning for the2004 National Electionsthe Mobile DeploymentWing was at anadvanced stage ofmaking sure that everything wentsmoothly with the power supply.Free and fair elections start with thoroughpreparation; that is why F SgtBert Oberholster and Sgt Frans vander Merwe, under the command ofCol Chris Delport, hauled the 400KVA cabin mobile power supplygenerator a week before the electionsto the IEC Centre in Pretoria. Thatwas to make sure that if there was apower failure, they would be able toprovide the whole centre with power.The two power generators wereintended as a back-up to provide theIEC Centre with power, and a thirdgenerator was placed at ElectionHouse in Sunnyside. This was similarto what had happened in the 1999elections.What distinguished the morningof 14 April 2004 from any othermorning is that all South Africanswere of one mind, namely to go andvote. Only on rare and incrediblyspecial occasions can an entire nationhave a single goal for the day. SouthAfricans have proved to be a conscientiouspeople, a nation that hasinternalised the joys of living in ademocratic state.Soweto residents woke up to thesounds of helicopters hovering above.They were circulating around theIn support ofthe country'sdemocraticprocess.area and making sure that there wereno obstacles between the voters andthe voting stations. In a Soweto villagewhere I stood at a street cornerwatching people go by, movementwas in one direction and goingtowards a local school where thevoting booths had been placed.Voters walked leisurely towardsvoting stations, chatting along withouta care in the world. Yes! This is anew South Africa, nice and easy, and18Patient voters standing in long winding queues at the Pretoria City Hall.S A S O L D I E R • J U N E 2 0 0 4
Front, right to left: Pte Laban Huma, Sgt Louis Sathekge andSgt Enock Makoso waiting and ready to cast their votes.to keep it that way citizens went tothe polls in large numbers. We havebecome mature and patient voters.Voting took place from the earlyhours of the public holiday till late atnight or well into the early hours ofthe following morning in extremecases. Those who were unable to voteon the 14th had cast their special voteon the eve of the election.Col Koos Liebenberg, SSOConventional Operations at theDivisional Headquarters of the CJOPSresponsible for conventional operations,who handled big events anddisaster management, was one of thevery few people who voted on the13th.While everybody went to the pollsCol Liebenberg was part of theSANDF body that was to providestandby support for the South AfricanPolice Service (SAPS) throughout theelection period. All SANDF membersdeployed on standby during electiontime were able to cast their specialvotes on either 12 or 13 April."The Defence Force's responsibilitythis year for elections and alsoduring the two registration weekendswas basically to be on standby insupport of the SAPS," said ColLiebenberg. The SAPS is the mainrole player in regard to safety andsecurity.According to Col Liebenberg,because of the low level of violenceand the very stable threat scenario inSouth Africa, the SANDF took thedecision not to deploy physically."We planned then on different contingenciesand it was decided that weshould have two infantry battalionson standby," continued ColLiebenberg. The two battalions were21 Battalion in Johannesburg and5 SAI Battalion in Ladysmith, onfour hours standby. Members of theSAMHS were on standby to providemedical support if and when needed.Two immobile companies, a companyfrom 6 SAI Battalion and theParachute Regiment in Bloemfontein,were also placed on standby. "If therewas a problem anywhere in thecountry, then it was possible for theDefence Force to intervene anddeploy," stated Col Liebenberg."We also had a number of vehiclesplaced, pre-positioned throughout thecountry. There was enough air supportin the form of helicopters andC130 aircraft to deploy and redeploy,"Col Liebenberg said. On theday of the elections and the day after,every commando in the countryphysically deployed a section insupport of the SAPS in the "outerperimeter" context."There was never ever at anypolling station a problem reported tous," said Col Liebenberg. "It wasnever necessary to deploy; I thinkour elections went well, althoughone company from 5 SAI Bn wasdeployed late on the evening of14 April in KwaZulu-Natal in supportof the SAPS," concluded ColLiebenberg.Lt Col Nicky Maphosa at JointOperations Tactical HQ GautengProvince at Doornkop Military Basein Johannesburg, also cast his specialvote on the eve of the elections.Speaking to SA SOLDIER ColMaphosa explained why he was busyon the day of the election.He said, "Fourteen members fromeach Area Territorial Reserve unit orcommando were deployed from 13 to16 April to safeguard the elections."Joint Operations Tactical HQGauteng Province has 24 AreaTerritorial Reserves (ATRs) sectionsunder operational command."The planning was joint with theSAPS in all seven areas of Gauteng,starting from the provincial level andup to area level," mentioned Lt ColMaphosa. "It went very well thanksto the joint planning and the nonproblematicstructures that were inplace; the Deputy NationalCommissioner of the SAPS alsocommended everybody," he added."All our members were purelydeployed in assistance to the SAPSand the IEC to make the electionperiod a success," emphasisedLt Col Maphosa.The SANDF was also involvedduring the elections in the joint structures,such as the Joint Operationaland Intelligence Structures, theNational Joint Operational Centre,the National Joint OperationalCommittee, the Provincial JointOperational Committee and the AreaJoint Operational Committee. Thesejoint structures were comprised of theSAPS, the SANDF, the IEC, the NIA,the NICOC and other relevant roleplayers. Although the SAPS was thelead department regarding safety andsecurity, each department hadautonomous line functional commandand control of own elementsdeployed.When he spoke to SA SOLDIERPte Laban Huma said that he wasonly interested in exercising his rightto vote. Sgt Louis Sathekge said hehoped that the Government wouldcreate more jobs and prevent crime.Sgt Enock Makoso agreed with him.J U N E 2 0 0 4 • S A S O L D I E R19
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