The SA National Defence Union (Sandu) calls it “perplexing” that an honorary colonel can be called up for active duty as a Reserve Force member.
According to the military trade union’s national secretary Pikkie Greeff, an honorary colonel is not, by law, eligible for a call-up to active duty as the Department of Defence has stated with regard to former Eskom chief executive and short-lived MP, Brian Molefe.
“A valid call-up for active duty requires the incumbent to have a substantive military rank, obtained through military training and the appropriate qualifications. It also requires that the officer holds a commissioned rank. Molefe meets none of these requirements. His call-up is thus unlawful and fraudulent.”
Another worrying point for Sandu is there are thousands of qualified Reserve Force members whose services are not made use of because of financial constraints in the landward force.
“This same army has no problem appointing a person illegally at a salary of R57 000 a month,” Greeff said.
He maintains there are “some elements at managerial level in the SA Army who decided to show benevolence to Molefe in what is nothing but a jobs-for-pals scandal”.
Also worrying to the military trade union is Molefe’s apparent involvement in the financial and budgetary affairs of the military. “This inevitably provides him access to classified information when he holds no security classification as required by the Defence Act”.
Sandu will file criminal charges against Molefe, who is the honorary colonel of the SA Irish Regiment, this week.
Afrikaans weekly, Rapport, this weekend reported a photograph taken of Molefe wearing three medals has “raised eyebrows”.
One is a Mandela medal in gold, specifically designed to honour the memory of democratic South Africa’s first president and the first Commander-in-Chief of the then newly constituted SA National Defence Force. In the photograph Molefe also wears the Unitas medal, awarded to non-statutory forces such as MK and Apla in 1994 during integration. The third medal is for 10 years loyal service.
According to Rapport, Molefe’s CV makes no mention of MK service. It does indicate he worked for the ANC in Limpopo and was a political activist in the 1980s.
He was, according to the Department of Defence, appointed as a member of “a pool of specialists” for the SANDF in November 2009. This means he could only have served five years when the photograph was taken of him wearing all three medals and belting his Sam Browne over the wrong shoulder.
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