South Africa's military top brass have warned that the rate at which soldiers, sailors, pilots and technical personnel are being poached from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) poses a serious threat to the country.

The loss of pilots to the Australian Air Force alone recently prompted the chief of the South African Air Force Lt-Gen Carlo Gagiano to appeal to his Australian counterpart for an end to the poaching.

"I said to him: this is not on, you can't keep poaching from me. He promised me it was not him or his force, that it was other organisations, but I think I need to follow up on that conversation," he told MPs last week.

"I said to him: this is not on, you can't keep poaching from me"

The military officers were presenting the SANDF's strategic plan for the next three years to the national council of provinces' select committee on defence and constitutional affairs.

Even musicians are in demand as a military violinist was recently recruited by a foreign fighting force. But the exodus of technicians and other specialists is far more serious.

The air force lost 218 technical specialists last year and 253 the year before. Fifty more packed their bags in the first three months of this year and April alone saw 23 technicians leave for greener pastures. Pilots are also leaving in droves.

"I have lost my Cheetah Squadron Commander to the Australian Air Force, my Hawk Squadron Commander, my senior instructor on the Hawks and just yesterday I heard that my most knowledgeable person on the Oryx helicopter is now leaving for the Australian Air Force," complained Gagiano.

He warned that the loss of air crews, particularly to the Middle and Far East, "is going to have a huge impact on the economy of the country".

'Every week the navy loses people, even Africans'

All in all, the SANDF lost 910 technicians in 2007 - more than 11 percent of its entire technical staff. One official explained that this would seem like an acceptable loss of skills to some, but that the amount of money and time that went into training these members would make it impossible for the SANDF to get a return on their investment.

It has also caused a juniorisation of technical staff, leaving only a handful of experienced personnel to guide and mentor the rest who average two or three years of experience.

Chief of policy and planning in the defence secretariat Tsepe Motumi said the problem was "across the board" in the SANDF and that the organisations was suffering from "poaching on a month-to-month basis".

Chief of the SA Navy V-Adm Johannes Mudimu sketched a dismal picture of sailors, divers, submariners and navy engineers leaving for higher wages elsewhere.

"Many divers are going to Nigeria to work on the oil rigs. Others are going to the Central African Republic to work in their oil industry. We have members who have left for Australia, New Zealand and the British Royal Navy," he said.

But the haemorrhaging of skills is not only attributed to foreign recruiters.

Local aviation companies, engineering firms, transport companies and the merchant navy are also stripping the military of much needed skills.

According to Mudimu, the Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) has recruited many navy drivers and fire-fighters as the company gears up for the anticipated influx soccer enthusiasts in 2010.

Merchant mariners apparently lure young navy cadets literally under the noses of military brass. "We train them for three or four years at universities and technical colleges. They are sought-after individuals.

"You know, when I attend a parade to graduate these members, there are people in the audience with fat cheques. By the time I give him a trophy this youngster has already entered into an agreement (with another employer)," said Mudimu.

In other cases, companies or foreign governments simply buy South Africans out of their study contracts.

The navy chief conceded that losing trained personnel to the South African economy was "not so bad", but complained that many companies in the field no longer spent money on their own human resource development, they simply wait for the military to train staff.

He also emphasised that the problem was not limited to white military officers.

"Every week the navy loses people, even Africans. When we were building these new frigates in Germany, we sent a lot of blacks to Germany to train. When they came back they served the navy for one or two years and then they all left," he complained.

He said the navy lost 75 Africans last year.

The SANDF has set aside R408-million to provide incentives to those with scarce skills, but officials pointed out that, in the long run, the demand for skills was a global phenomenon and that it is hard for South Africa to compete.

Source: The Daily News