T - Department of Defence

S A S O L D I E ReventsMilitary partnership withthe local Defence Industry“The New Growth Path seeks to address the core challengesof joblessness, poverty and inequality by knittingtogether the Second Industrial Policy Action Plan.”By Cpl Ally RakomaPhotos: Sgt Elias MahumaThe Department of Defence andMilitary Veterans in conjunctionwith Armscor and theDepartment of Trade andIndustry held its fourth DefenceIndustry Day with the theme:"Political Support for Security, EconomicGains and Creation of Employment" inPretoria on 17 March 2011.The Defence Industry Day aims tostrengthen co-ordination and co-opera-The Secretary for Defence, MsMpumi Mpofu, highlights somekey activities that need to beundertaken to optimise resultsand guide decisions at theDefence Industry Day.tion between Government, the SADefence Industry (SADI) and other relevantstakeholders with the aim ofdeveloping a competitive world-classSA Defence Industry. This event willhelp SADI to understand Government'sintentions on defence matters and positionthemselves for the developmentand enhancement of defence productsthat are relevant to the defenceindustry.During his address the Deputy Ministerof Defence and Military Veterans, MrThabang Makwetla, said thatGovernment recognised and supportedthe defence industry and intended tosee it grow and contribute both locallyand abroad. He added that a newbenchmark had been set and the objectivewas to create solutions. He said:"The Government has in the recent pastpublished its new strategy for economicdevelopment in the form of the NewGrowth Path which seeks to addressthe core challenges of joblessness,poverty and inequality by knittingtogether the Second Industrial PolicyAction Plan."The Secretary for Defence, Ms MpumiMpofu, said that the SA DefenceIndustry's role as an integral part of theSANDF's capabilities was now takingroot in a more meaningful sense andwithin the context of a home market.She emphasised that what was crucialwas that this partnership between theThe Deputy Minister of Defenceand Military Veterans, MrThabang Makwetla, encouragingsustainable capacity fornational security.military and the local defence industrywas not aimed at obtaining self-sufficiencyin the provision of armaments,but to ensure a degree of self-reliancefor both the SANDF and the SAGovernment. She said: "For this partnershipto succeed, there will have to beenhanced, consistent and transparentcommunication between the SANDFand the Industry."The Defence Industry stakeholders suchas Armscor and Aerospace Maritimeand Defence Industries Association alsoprovided specialist input in terms of thedevelopment of procedures for defencecapability, defence systems modellingand the evaluation of technical conceptsand defence acquisition programmes.24• J U N E 2 0 1 1