Pilots, technicians leaving SAAF in droves, says minister

At an airshow, an F15 is seen flying off the wing of a KC 135 refueller. While the SAAF is facing a skills and human resources crisis, high fuel and operating costs are drastically limiting the effective capacity of navy patrol boats, among them four new vessels purchased at a cost in excess of R500 million. Photo: Brendan Cockcroft

The brand new jet fighters, sea and land helicopters, and giant transport aircraft recently delivered to South Africa could be languishing in hangars if the current wave of resignations of technicians and pilots continues. 

Replying to written questions in Parliament, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said 535 technical officers and 71 pilots have resigned from the Air Force in the past two years.

DA defence spokesman Roy Jankielsohn said it is clear from Lekota’s response that the 24 new Hawk fighter-trainers, 28 Gripen jet fighters, 30 Agusta helicopters, four maritime choppers and eight Airbus transport planes will be at risk if the current exodus carries on.

The chief of the Air Force, Lieutenant General Carlo Gagiano, confirmed that Hawk jet instructors have recently left for the private sector, and this could hamper training efforts.

Jankielsohn said the government should have known that it was spending billions on aircraft that could not be deployed optimally and sensibly, because the country does not have the required capacity.

The resignations mean that remaining personnel have a bigger workload and will also have to monitor newly recruited technicians and pilots, who cannot make up for lost expertise. 

The Air Force has already begun contracting flights to commercial airlines.

Pilots are going over to commercial airlines in South Africa, which are expanding rapidly, while a flight school in Australia, which has been contracted to train pilots for China and India, is lapping up all qualified personnel. 

The shortage of instructors at the Central Flight School Langebaanweg is another problem. There are currently 50 student pilots. The ideal instructor-student ratio is roughly 1:1,8, based on the flight-hours required to qualify.

Earlier this year the ratio was 1:3,8 ­ a situation that is exacerbated by individuals performing far below average still being allowed to continue flying.

“Approximately four of these students will go for fighter aircraft training and another four for helicopter flight training. Now there is a bottleneck, because at the advanced flying schools there is also a shortage of instructors,” an instructor told Beeld.

Meanwhile, after forking out more than R500 million on four new patrol boats, the government admits the vessels are spending nearly as much time in harbour as at sea because of the high running costs.

The four craft, along with four others, are controlled by marine and coastal management.

It costs taxpayers R690 000 a day if all eight patrol boats are out at sea and R220 000 a day if they are not, said Pam Yako, director-general of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, when she briefed MPs in Parliament on Monday.

Yako and Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk were reporting to the portfolio committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism, on the status of the Marine Living Resources Fund, which was created to pay the operational costs of the patrol boats.

MPs, who had recently questioned the state of the fund, were clearly shocked by the high running costs *1.

The fund has received a qualified report from the auditor-general Shauket Fakie since 2002 because of a lack of internal controls.

Treasury has agreed to meet the running costs of R180 million a year for the next three years.

The biggest expense, fuel, has risen by 192% in four years.

With acknowledgements to Erika Gibson and The Witness.