Article by Captain Hammilton Ngubane, Staff Officer 2, SA Army Corporate Communication
Photographs by Staff Sergeant Nico Jacobs, Photographer, SA Army Engineer Terrain Intelligence Regiment

The Chief of the SA Army, Lieutenant General Vusi Masondo engaged members of the media in his first Media Breakfast that was hosted at SA Army College in Thaba Tshwane on 23 August 2012.

Address by Chief of the SA Army, Lieutenant General V.R. Masondo

The event was organised to afford the Chief of the SA Army a platform to address certain matters of media interest, and to create a warm and positive atmosphere to exist among the SA Army and the media. Lieutenant General Masondo opened up by thanking his principals in the Department of Defence and Military Veterans for giving him an opportunity to lead the SA Army, and appreciated the trust that they are showing in him to lead such an organization.

A special word of thanks went to the media fraternity thanking them, and noting the manner in which the media welcomed his appointment as the Chief of the SA Army. He over-emphasised the need to develop, strengthen and sustain a mutual beneficial relationship with the media, and affirmed the media that the SA Army will support the media on its core function, which is to inform and educate the public about the broad spectrum of news affairs.

Lieutenant General Masondo humbly urged the members of the media to be considerate in their reports about the SA Army, he mentioned that he is mindful of the deadlines the media is chasing, however he assured them that the SA Army will endeavour to meet all media requirements. He urged them also to consider that there are channels of command which must be observed in the military, which on their own imply that it will take a long time to obtain and/or offer information on certain aspects.

Part of his address was to give a highlight on his visits to SA Army units around the county. He accepted that visiting these units gave him an insight of the status of the SA Army, it was during these visits that Lieutenant General Masondo identified all elements that require urgent attention in SA Army units. He assured the media that the SA Army is moving closer to address all immediate challenges pertaining to poor state of facilities since the SA National Defence Force has established Department of Defence Works Regiment to attend to buildings and first line infrastructural shortfalls. He shared with the media some of the successes achieved by the SA Army where our soldiers are called to make a difference in the lives of ordinary South African citizens. This includes the provision of high security in the South African borders, assisting in curbing rhino poaching in the South African Parks, provide members to assist Department of Home Affairs to act as immigration officials, and the construction of bridges where communities found it difficult to cross during rainy seasons, just to mention the few.

In order to address individual concerns which our soldiers are facing, he highlighted that the SA National Defence Force has created a system that will allow Services and Divisions to address grievances raised by members with immediate effect as they are registered online in every unit, and ensure that each grievance is attended to.

In closing, Lieutenant General Masondo urged members of the media not to be used by our soldiers as a platform to raise their individual and collective concerns. He invited and pleaded with the media to join hands with the SA Army, and media to be part of change management aimed at educating and informing ordinary South Africans about the Defence Force, particularly the SA Army. He requested them to isolate those elements who have bad intentions to portray a negative image about the SA Army, which adversely impact the image of South Africa as a whole.