Chapter 2 - P rogramme 1 - Department of Defence

| Chapter 2 - Programme 1: Administration |
SUBPROGRAMME CORPORATE STAFF
DIVISION
Overview
The Corporate Staff Division continued to provide
a sound, centralised staff capability and service to
the Chief of the SANDF. The service includes,
inter alia, strategic direction, policy and strategic
advice and support from the Military Policy Strategy
and Planning Office, Defence Legal Services
Division, Directorate Corporate Communication,
Defence Reserve Division and the Chaplain Service.
In addition, staff coordination was done of the
Command and Management Information Systems,
Logistics and the Military Police to ensure that the
support services were delivered as directed by the C
SANDF.
Most of the planned objectives and targets were
achieved, despite some legacy challenges that were
experienced. These challenges were mainly as a result
of inadequate structures, a lack of capacity and a loss
of skills, while support Divisions were hampered
by the unavailability of vehicles and essential
equipment. Various corrective measures were
instituted and involved the effective coordination
of responsibilities, the optimisation of performance
control, continuous liaison with the Divisions, and
the utilisation of Reserves and MSDS members. In
addition, key corporate measures were implemented
to improve performance and service delivery; these
are the following:
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The implementation of the instruction to
terminate the general support base concept
and to migrate the general support function
to a more effective, efficient and economical
resource enablement system that is still in
process;
A Logistic Intervention and Realignment
Programme (LIRP) has been established to
address the issues that are hampering joint
logistic services;
The CSIR Facilities Section has been tasked to
help with the development of a DOD Facilities
Master Plan to assist in the management and
improvement of the DOD’s facilities; and
The newly-established Protection and Security
Section within the Military Police assists Services
and Divisions in the conducting of surveys as
part of proactive measures to prevent crime
and contribute to asset protection.
Annual Report FY 2007 - 2008
| Department of Defence |
74
The past year saw the Division focusing on three
key strategic matters:
1.
2.
3.
The confirmation of the force design and
the costing of the Credible Force Design as
confirmed in the Defence Update. Clear advice
and direction to avoid inefficiencies and make
the force design more affordable was provided;
Assistance with the reprioritisation of the
Strategic Capital Acquisition Master Plan; and
Coordination in the development of the DOD
Overarching Support Concept.
The Division’s outputs were continuously visible in
the international environment, where the quality of
its activities and inputs during multinational Defence
Committee meetings (DEFCOMS) had a direct
impact on the image of the DOD and SANDF.
The Division’s achievements are highlighted below,
while detailed performance and achievements are
provided under the report of each subdivision.
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Chief of Corporate Staff ’s involvement in
international cooperation through active
participation in 17 bilateral and multilateral
agreements or Defence Committee Meetings
that took place during the Financial Year
2007/08.
Revision of the Military Strategy that was
approved by the Defence Staff Council.
The assistance provided by the Military
Policy Strategy and Planning Office with the
development and support of the DRC Master
Plan to reform the DRC Armed Forces.
The seminar on the “Challenges of Religion
in Peace and Conflict in Africa” that was
successfully held at the SA National War College
on 15 November 2007.
Defence Legal Services’ contributions towards
the Prohibition of Restriction of Certain
Conventional Weapons Bill that was passed by
the National Assembly on 29 August 2007 and
the Prohibition of Mercenary Activities and
Regulation of Certain Activities in Country of
Armed Conflict Bill that was promulgated and
gazetted as an Act on 16 November 2007.
The review of 113 cases during the year by the
Court of Military Appeals, which resulted in a
total cleanup of the backlog in review cases.
The Chief of the SANDF’s requirements in terms
of policy and strategic advice within the various
corporate staff specialised Divisions were met.
However, within the Corporate Staff Division the
following challenges and needs continue to prevail: