Informal settlements encroaching on military bases pose a serious national security threat.
This is according to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans chairperson, Dakota Legoete.
He says about 15 of the country’s 438 military bases are directly affected.
Legoete warns that some bases house ammunition depots, while settlements can also obstruct military vehicles from responding to attacks.
He called for an interdepartmental task team to relocate affected communities and provide them with alternative housing and basic services.
“Some of our military bases are registered as assets and properties of Public Works. So even if, as the National Defence Force, you have to take anybody to court, you don’t have the restriction because you are not the property owner or the landlord of that particular property. So, that’s why in our proposal as the portfolio committee 15 months ago, we said that we want an interdepartmental working group.”
Legoete adds, “Some of the people who are encroaching in our military bases are not necessarily South African. The problem is that you can’t accuse them without the court order because if you’re doing exert force or praise as a defense force, it’s going to be another case of human rights abuse.”
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