Wilson Johwa
29 June 2009
Johannesburg — THE South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is poised to withdraw from Burundi at the end of the month as it appears peace is holding in that country.
The chief of the SANDF's Joint Operations Division, Lt-Gen Themba Matanzima, whose unit is responsible for planning military operations, said the mandate in Burundi was due to end tomorrow.
The South African government may still decide to extend the mission, but plans were on course for the withdrawal of most of the 1100 soldiers.
"As far as we are concerned, we have done a great job and the people of Burundi have elected their own government and we think that peace will last for some time," Matanzima said.
The SANDF has been in Burundi since 2001. The mission subsequently changed to an African Union (AU) operation before falling under the responsibility of the United Nations . Along with the deployment of troops, SA had also been involved in facilitating the peace process. Former president Nelson Mandela, then vice- president Jacob Zuma and former defence minister Charles Nqakula all worked as mediators.
The return of the troops from Burundi would be welcome because the military felt overstretched, Matanzima said. Almost 3000 soldiers and officers were on external missions. Despite the seemingly small number, three or four times that figure was required in order to rotate the troops.
"We feel that we are over- stretched, especially in the army," he said. Soldiers needed enough time to spend with their families, but also to retrain. To address this, the military was urging a review of the deployment structure with the possibility of increasing the permanent force, along with the utilisation of the reserve force. Although members of the reserve force were also deployed on external missions, increased utilisation of the force would require an upgrading of skills.
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