It happens with just about clockwork regularity at the start of every year – the recruitment scammers crawl out of the woodwork and offer young men and women battling to find work permanent positions in “the Army”.
It’s not yet the end of January and the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) has issued its second warning of the year against unscrupulous people wanting money in exchange for the chance of work in uniform.
Brigadier General Mafi Mgobozi, Director: Corporate Communication of the SANDF, said in a statement “there is a group or syndicate posing as a recruitment agency for the SANDF operating in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces”.
“The perpetrators lure and mislead innocent victims into paying money for transport to various parts of the country with the hope of joining the SANDF.
“The SANDF categorically asserts its recruitment process is free and no money is required for application and it does not use any agency or association for recruitment. The SANDF advertises its application forms annually on national newspapers as well as on its websites.”
Mgobozi’s latest recruitment scam warning comes just over two weeks after a similar warning was issued – that one specifically naming the force’s military skills development (MSD) programme.
That scam used social media as its launch and carrier platform was also condemned by the SANDF.
“The SANDF has not issued any advertisement with regard to the recruitment of new members yet. The advertisement for 2018 recruitment will be published In Sunday newspapers on 21 January 2018 and in the Daily Sun newspaper on Monday, 22 January 2018,” it said.
“The SANDF neither sells application forms nor uses recruitment agencies,” the force again reminded people thinking of applying for work in the defence force.
Those who applied using the most recent newspaper advertisements will be subjected to various selection criteria during the course of the year. The ones who make it through all the way will in December receive call-up notifications to report for duty early in 2019.
The second weekend of this year saw 1 552 successful recruits for the SA Air Force, SA Army, SA Military Health Service and SA Navy MSD intake report at bases across the country for basic training before starting further training in specific musterings.
