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Commando System (South Africa)

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159-572: The Commando System was a mostly voluntary, part-time force of the South African Army , but in their role as local militia the units were often deployed in support of and under the authority of the South African Police . South Africa's Commando System was responsible for the safeguarding and protection of specific communities (usually rural, but sometimes urban). Commando units were usually referred to as area protection,

318-921: A League of Nations mandate to govern the former German colony and to prepare it for independence within a few years, however South African occupation continued, illegally, until 1990. Later, the South African Infantry Brigade , and various other supporting units such as the South African Native Labour Corps, were deployed to France in order to fight on the Western Front as the South African Overseas Expeditionary Force under British command. The 1st South African Brigade consisted of four infantry battalion sized regiments, representing men from all four provinces of

477-486: A civil defence system which involved the whole community. The participants in the Commando System did not have military commitments outside of the areas they served and were responsible for the safety and security of their own communities. The Commando system existed from the 1770s. The early Boer Commando system was a conscriptive service designed to provide a quickly-trained fighting force. Commandos were

636-658: A field ambulance unit, a Royal Engineers signals company and a military hospital . The most costly action that the South African forces on the Western Front fought in was the Battle of Delville Wood in 1916 – of the 3,000 men from the brigade who entered the wood, only 768 emerged unscathed. Another tragic loss of life for the South African forces during the war was the Mendi sinking on 21 February 1917, when

795-600: A "frontline" country because of its shared border with South Africa, where the ANC was attempting to re-establish its underground. However, although he travelled frequently in subsequent years, the ANC's Lusaka headquarters remained his central base. Between 1975 and 1976, Mbeki was instrumental in establishing the ANC's frontline base in Swaziland. He was first sent there to assess the political landscape in January 1975, under

954-420: A 'total disaster'. Its spokesman, Armiston Watson said that "the disbanding of the rural commandos (announced by the government in 2003) was an irresponsible political move which now leaves all farmers and farm workers defenceless and easy targets for criminals." Agri SA Chairman Kiewiet Ferreira, a farmer in the central Free State Province town of Harrismith said: "We need commandos, and we see them as one of

1113-846: A State of Emergency and gave the army and police special powers. In 1986, the South African Army sent a captain in the South African Defence Force (SADF) to kill Mbeki. The plan was to put a bomb in his house in Lusaka, but the assassin was arrested by the Zambian police before he could go through with the plan. In 1985, Mbeki became the ANC's director of the Department of Information and Publicity and coordinated diplomatic campaigns to involve more white South Africans in anti-apartheid activities. In 1989, he rose in

1272-414: A bombing in 1987); Northwestern Command (HQ Potchefstroom ); Eastern Transvaal Command (HQ Nelspruit ); Natal Command (Durban), and Far North Command (HQ Pietersburg , which in late 1993 and early 1994 included Regiment Hillcrest which was then part of 73 Motorised Brigade , and 73 Brigade itself). The part-time force also operated in the military area of Walvis Bay . During this same period,

1431-701: A fairly common practice, and even a rite of passage, among young people identified as belonging to the future generation of ANC and SACP political leaders. He was educated at the Lenin Institute , where, because of the secrecy required, he went by the alias "Jack Fortune." He excelled at the institute and in June 1970 was appointed to the Central Committee of the SACP, alongside Chris Hani. The last part of his training entailed military training, also

1590-503: A farm in the area this commando is called. They set up roadblocks and a search begins for the suspects. House and Hearth protection commando members are composed in the same manner as the Home and Hearth protection reaction force commandos. However, they only protect their own properties and are given a rifle if they do not have their own. In addition to relying on the commandos, a contingency plan has been drawn up in some areas, using members of

1749-621: A great deal of unhappiness amongst farmers who rely upon commandos for rural safety and security. On 5 August 2003 the minister of Safety and Security confirmed that the commandos would be phased out over six years, but that special police units would be established in the rural areas and that commando members could get involved in these. ... Research undertaken by the Committee found that farm workers are secondary victims of farm attacks, and although they may escape harm, are most likely to suffer when farms are sold, downsized or liquidated. None of

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1908-874: A great extent took over the functions of the Danie Theron Combat School 's training wing. In 1973 the SADF also took over responsibility for the defence of South West Africa (today Namibia) from the South African Police. During the succeeding months the Army became involved in combat operations for the first time since the Second World War, clashing with groups of SWAPO infiltrating into South West Africa. 7th and 8th Divisions, early 1980s John Keegan, World Armies, p.639 From 1 September 1972 Army Task Force Headquarters

2067-514: A hotel in Switzerland . Known as "Operation Flair", PW Botha was kept informed of all the meetings. At the same time, Mandela and Kobie Coetzee , the Minister of Justice, were also holding secret talks. When Mbeki finally was able to return home to South Africa and was reunited with his own father, the elder Mbeki told a reporter, "You must remember that Thabo Mbeki is no longer my son. He

2226-598: A hunting rifle, and his own horses. The average Boer citizens who made up their commandos were farmers who had spent almost all their working life in the saddle, and because they had to depend on both their horse and their rifle for almost all of their meat, they were skilled hunters and expert marksmen. Most of the Boers had single-shot breech-loading rifles such as the Westley Richards , the Martini-Henry , or

2385-663: A key role in controlling sectarian political violence inside South Africa during the late 1980s and early 1990s. After the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, General Jan Smuts , the Union's first Minister of Defence, placed a high priority on creating a unified military out of the separate armies of the union's four provinces (the British Cape Colonial Forces , and the forces of the Natal Colony ,

2544-467: A man's eighteenth birthday or on leaving school. National service obligations could be fulfilled by active-duty military service for two years and by serving in the reserves, generally for ten or twelve years. Reservists generally underwent fifty days per year of active duty or training, after their initial period of service. The system was for the most part that the National Service requirement

2703-419: A narrowing budget deficit , and consistent, moderate economic growth. However, despite his retention of various social democratic programmes, and notable expansions to the black economic empowerment programme, critics often regarded Mbeki's economic policies as neoliberal , with insufficient consideration for developmental and redistributive objectives. On these grounds, Mbeki grew increasingly alienated from

2862-453: A new generation of leaders had to be prepared for succession. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Mbeki's key role in the early negotiations made him a likely contender for top leadership positions in the party, and he was even considered to be in line for the ANC presidency. However, at the ANC's 48th National Conference in July 1991, its first national elective conference since 1960, Mbeki

3021-469: A number of actions in North Africa during 1942, but on 21 June 1942 two complete infantry brigades of the division as well as most of the supporting units were captured at the fall of Tobruk . The 3rd South African Infantry Division never took an active part in any battles but instead organised and trained the South African home defence forces, performed garrison duties and supplied replacements for

3180-509: A product of the First Boer War during which the fiercely independent Boers had no regular army. When danger threatened, all the men in a district would form a militia organised into military units called commandos and would elect officers. Being civilian militia, each man wore what they wished, usually everyday neutral or earthtone khaki farming clothes such as a jacket, trousers and slouch hat . Each man brought his own weapon, usually

3339-906: A provincial context resorted under a Provincial Command. The Commando System had its own Commando Training School, where skills received from National Service were developed or sharpened. As some commando units increased in size and functionality, it was decided to convert some of them to full Citizen Force regiments. Training for all commando units was based on the fundamental training of the infantry either motorised or mechanised. There were also other Citizen Force regiments that were artillery, armour, engineers etc. These Citizen Force units could then be equated to British army territorial regiments. Citizen Force regiments could be deployed anywhere. Some volunteered to do service in South West Africa and Angola but generally sent only small numbers. Some of these units that converted to Regiments included: From

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3498-580: A rational expectation. — Mbeki in 1997, on filling Mandela's shoes Following the 1994 elections , South Africa's first under universal suffrage , Mbeki became one of the two national deputy presidents in the ANC-led Government of National Unity , in which Mandela was president. At the ANC's next national conference , held in December that year, Mbeki was elected unopposed to the ANC deputy presidency, also under Mandela. In June 1996,

3657-406: A rite of passage, including in intelligence, guerrilla tactics, and weaponry. However, his biographer Mark Gevisser adduces that he was "not the ideal candidate for military life," and Max Sisulu , who trained alongside him, says that he always regarded Mbeki as better suited to political leadership than military leadership. In April 1971, having been pulled out from military training, Mbeki

3816-781: A role in African and global politics that was disproportionate to the country's size and historical influence. He was the central architect of the New Partnership for Africa's Development and, as the inaugural chairperson of the African Union , spearheaded the introduction of the African Peer Review Mechanism . After the IBSA Dialogue Forum was launched in 2003, his government collaborated with India and Brazil to lobby for reforms at

3975-477: A senior NCO rank. The Veldkornet was responsible not only for calling up the burghers , but also for policing his ward, collecting taxes, issuing firearms and other material in times of war. Theoretically, a ward was divided into corporalships. A corporalship was usually made up of about 20 burghers. Sometimes entire families filled a corporalship. The Veldkornet was responsible to the Kommandant, who in turn

4134-482: A top-level strategic meeting in Luanda , Angola, when Maharaj, who had been tasked with running the political underground, claimed that Mbeki's records from the Swaziland office were in fact "just an empty folder." After being deported, Mbeki returned to Lusaka, where he was made Duma Nokwe's deputy in the ANC's Department of Information and Propaganda (DIP). In January 1977, he was posted to Lagos , Nigeria, where he

4293-675: A touring football team, and then in Rhodesia . He arrived at the ANC's new headquarters in Dar es Salaam , Tanzania, in November 1962, and left shortly afterwards for England. While at Sussex, Mbeki was involved in ANC work and in broader organising for the English Anti-Apartheid Movement . Months after his arrival, his father was arrested during a Security Branch raid at Liliesleaf Farm in July 1963. During

4452-825: A two-year term. Controversially, in February 2007, South Africa followed Russia and China in voting against a draft resolution calling for an end to political detentions and military attacks against ethnic minorities in Myanmar. Mbeki later told the media that the resolution exceeded the Security Council's mandate, and that its tabling had been illegal in terms of international law . Mbeki's presidency coincided with an escalating political and economic crisis in South Africa's neighbour, Zimbabwe, under president Mugabe of ZANU-PF. Problems included land invasions under

4611-409: A vital element of the protection plan of any cell. The cell members would have a communication link with their cell leader (who was elected by the members) who, in turn, had a communication link with the local police station. This ensured quick reaction by the police in the event of an attack. The cell leader could notify the local Commando if a stronger force was required. This process of communication

4770-625: Is in the public domain . Country Studies . Federal Research Division . South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa , a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force , South African Navy and South African Military Health Service . The Army is commanded by the Chief of

4929-536: Is my comrade!" A news article pointed out that this was an expression of pride, explaining, "For Govan Mbeki, a son was a mere biological appendage; to be called a comrade, on the other hand, was the highest honour." In the late 1970s, Mbeki made a number of trips to the United States in search of support among US corporations. Literate and funny, he made a wide circle of friends in New York City. Mbeki

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5088-465: Is safely held." Mbeki said in 2004: ...the critical role we should play is to assist the Zimbabweans to find each other, really to agree among themselves about the political, economic, social, other solutions that their country needs. We could have stepped aside from that task and then shouted, and that would be the end of our contribution... They would shout back at us and that would be the end of

5247-603: The "fast-track" land reform programme, political violence and state-sponsored human rights violations, and hyperinflation . With SADC's endorsement, Mbeki frequently acted as a mediator between ZANU-PF and the Zimbabwean opposition. However, controversially, his policy towards the Mugabe regime was one of non-confrontational "quiet diplomacy" and "constructive engagement": he refused to condemn Mugabe and instead attempted to persuade him to accept gradual political reforms. He

5406-697: The African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP). Both Epainette and Govan came from educated, Christian , land-owning families, and Govan's father was Sikelewu Mbeki, a colonially appointed headman . The couple had met in Durban , where Epainette had become the second black woman to join the SACP (then still called the Communist Party of South Africa). However, while Mbeki

5565-730: The African Union (AU), of which he became the inaugural chairperson in 2002, and his government spearheaded the introduction of the AU's African Peer Review Mechanism in 2003. He was twice chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), first from 1999 to 2000 and second, briefly, in 2008. Through these multilateral organisations and by contributing forces to various United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions, Mbeki and his government were involved in peacekeeping initiatives in African countries including Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Liberia,

5724-756: The Basters – demanded cultural autonomy and political independence; and in 1932, when the Ovambo (Ambo) population along the border with Angola demanded an end to South African domination. During the Rand strike of 1922, 14,000 members of the ACF and certain A class reservists were called up. Expenditure cuts saw the UDF as a whole reduced. The last remaining regiment of the South Africa Mounted Riflemen

5883-627: The Cato Institute commended Mbeki's macroeconomic policies, which reduced the budget deficit and public debt and which according to them likely played a role in increasing economic growth. According to the Free Market Foundation , during the Mbeki presidency, average annualised quarter-on-quarter GDP growth was 4.2%, and average annual inflation was 5.7%. On the other hand, the shift alienated leftists, including inside in

6042-560: The Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) programme, which was introduced in 1996 and remained a cornerstone of Mbeki's administration after 1999. In comparison to the Reconstruction and Development Programme policy which had been the basis of the ANC's platform in 1994, GEAR placed less emphasis on developmental and redistributive imperatives, and subscribed to elements of the liberalisation, deregulation, and privatisation at

6201-873: The National Party withdrew from the Government of National Unity and, with the second deputy, de Klerk, having thereby resigned, Mbeki became the sole deputy president. The same year, as deputy president, Mbeki acted as a peace broker in what was then known as Zaire , following the First Congo War and the deposition of Zairean president Mobutu Sese Seko . Mbeki also took on increasing domestic responsibilities, including executive powers delegated to him by Mandela, to such an extent that Mandela called him "a de facto president." Mandela had made it clear publicly since early 1995 or earlier that he intended to retire after one term in office, and by then Mbeki

6360-624: The RLI became the conventional reserve for Far North Command . The area of responsibility of each commands followed the boundaries of the Economic Development Regions. Before the dissolution of the territorial commands General Derrick Mgwebi is also reported to have headed Mpumalanga Command . During the 1980s, the legal requirements for national service were to register for service at age sixteen and to report for duty when called up, which usually occurred at some time after

6519-745: The Remington Rolling Block . Only a few had repeaters like the Winchester or the Swiss Vetterli . As hunters they had learned to fire from cover, from a prone position and to make the first shot count, knowing that if they missed the game would be long gone. At community gatherings, target shooting was a major sport and competitions used targets such as hens eggs perched on posts 100 yards away. The commandos became expert light cavalry , making use of every scrap of cover, from which they could pour an accurate and destructive fire at

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6678-541: The Transvaal , and the Orange River Colony ). The Defence Act (No. 13) of 1912 established a Union Defence Force (UDF) that included a Permanent Force (or standing army) of career soldiers, an Active Citizen Force of temporary conscripts and volunteers as well as a Cadet organisation. The 1912 law also obliged all white males between seventeen and sixty years of age to serve in the military, but this

6837-870: The Union of South Africa , as well as Rhodesia . The 1st Regiment was from the Cape Province , the 2nd Regiment was from Natal and the Orange Free State and the 3rd Regiment was from Transvaal and Rhodesia. The 4th Regiment was called the South African Scottish and was raised from members of the Transvaal Scottish and the Cape Town Highlanders ; they wore the Atholl Murray tartan . Supporting units included five batteries of heavy artillery ,

6996-485: The United Nations , advocating for a stronger role for developing countries. Among South Africa's various peacekeeping commitments during his presidency, Mbeki was the primary mediator in the conflict between ZANU-PF and the Zimbabwean opposition in the 2000s. However, he was frequently criticised for his policy of "quiet diplomacy" in Zimbabwe, under which he refused to condemn Robert Mugabe 's regime or institute sanctions against it. Also highly controversial worldwide

7155-509: The propaganda section of the ANC's English headquarters. He remained active in the SACP, which was very closely allied to the ANC, and in 1967 he was appointed to the editorial board of its official magazine, the African Communist . Throughout his time in England, Mbeki was the ward of O. R. Tambo and his wife Adelaide Tambo – in the absence of his parents, it was Adelaide and senior communist Michael Harmel who attended Mbeki's graduation ceremony in 1965. O. R. Tambo later became

7314-428: The "seminal thinker" behind NEPAD and its "principal author and articulator." According to academic Chris Landsberg, NEPAD's central principle – "African leaders holding one another accountable in exchange for the recommitment of the industrialised world to Africa's development" – epitomised Mbeki's strategy in Africa. Mbeki was also involved in the dissolution of the Organisation of African Unity and its replacement by

7473-400: The 7th South African Division on 1 April 1997, and became the 73rd, 74th and 75th Brigades respectively. On 1 April 1997 Regiment Louw Wepener (Bethlehem), Regiment De Wet (Kroonstad) and Regiment Dan Pienaar (Bloemfontein) were absorbed into Regiment Bloemspruit . 7th Division was disbanded on 1 April 1999 and all army battalions were assigned to 'type' formations, in accordance with

7632-457: The ACF and Coast Garrison Force was 25,155 and by 31 December actual strength stood at 23,462. Following the British declaration of war against Germany on 4 August 1914, South Africa was an extension of the British war effort due to her status as a Dominion within the Empire. Although self-governing, South Africa, along with other Dominions such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand, were only semi-independent from Britain. General Louis Botha ,

7791-432: The ANC and its Tripartite Alliance . Zwelinzima Vavi of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) was an outspoken critic of Mbeki's "market-friendly" economic policies, claiming that Mbeki's "flirtation" with neoliberalism had been "absolutely disastrous" for development, and especially for the labour-intensive development required to address South Africa's high unemployment rate. The discord between Mbeki and

7950-463: The ANC and other political organisations would be unbanned, and ANC exiles began to return to South Africa. At the same time that it was to negotiate the end of apartheid , the ANC had to implement a significant internal reorganisation, absorbing into its official exile bodies the domestic ANC underground, released political prisoners, and other activists from the trade unions and the United Democratic Front . It also had an ageing leadership, meaning that

8109-440: The ANC was unbanned in 1990. He rose through the organisation in its information and publicity section and as Oliver Tambo 's protégé, but he was also an experienced diplomat, serving as the ANC's official representative in several of its African outposts. He was an early advocate for and leader of the diplomatic engagements which led to the negotiations to end apartheid . After South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994, he

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8268-485: The ANC won by a significant majority, Mbeki was elected president of South Africa . He was re-elected for a second term in 2002. Ours is a capitalist society. It is therefore inevitable that, in part – and I repeat, in part – we must address this goal of deracialisation within the context of the property relations characteristic [of] a capitalist economy. — Mbeki in 1999 Mbeki had been highly involved in economic policy as deputy president, especially in spearheading

8427-708: The ANC's leadership. Over the next three years, Ramaphosa also came to eclipse Mbeki as the party's central negotiator when he, not Mbeki, was appointed to lead the ANC's delegation to the CODESA talks. Once SACP leader Chris Hani was assassinated in April 1993, Ramaphosa became Mbeki's primary competition in the ANC succession battle. When Tambo died later the same month, Mbeki succeeded him as ANC national chairperson. Well, I don't imagine that there's any such requirement. I mean, he's got very big feet. The shoes will be too big. What does that mean? Does it mean we start off by going to jail for 27 years and then sort of graduate from there, grow taller, wear strange shirts? It's not

8586-426: The ANC's longest-serving president, and he acted as Mbeki's "political mentor and patron" until his death in 1993. Other friends Mbeki made in England, including Ronnie Kasrils and brothers Essop Pahad and Aziz Pahad , were also among his key political allies in his later career. In February 1969, Mbeki was sent to Moscow in the Soviet Union to receive Marxist–Leninist political and ideological training –

8745-461: The ANC. Mbeki joined the ANC Youth League at age fourteen and in 1958 became the secretary of its Lovedale branch. Shortly afterwards, at the start of his final year of high school, he was identified as one of the leaders of a March 1959 boycott of classes, and was summarily expelled from Lovedale. He nonetheless sat for matric examinations and obtained a second-class pass. In June 1960, Mbeki moved to Johannesburg , where he lived in

8904-429: The ANC. The agreement allowed the ANC to open an office in Zimbabwe and to move MK weapons and cadres over Zimbabwean borders; moreover, it committed the Zimbabwean military to assisting the ANC, and the government to providing MK cadres with Zimbabwean identity documents. However, Mbeki handed the running of the Salisbury office over to another ANC official, and the deal later collapsed. In 1985, PW Botha declared

9063-401: The African continent. Simultaneously, however, he argued for increased developmental aid to Africa. He called for Western leaders to address global apartheid and unequal development, most memorably in a speech to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August 2002. Although Mbeki also forged strategic individual relationships with key African leaders, especially

9222-428: The Army, who is subordinate to the Chief of the SANDF. Formed in 1912, as the Union Defence Force in the Union of South Africa , through the amalgamation of the South African colonial forces following the unification of South Africa. It evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by Boer Commando ( militia ) forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners ' historical distrust of large standing armies . Following

9381-400: The British Royal Flying Corps and over 100 volunteering for the Royal Navy . More than 146,000 whites, 83,000 black Africans and 2,500 Coloureds and Asians also served in either German South-West Africa, East Africa, the Middle East, or on the Western Front in Europe. Suffering roughly 19,000 casualties, over 7,000 South Africans were killed, and nearly 12,000 were wounded during the course of

9540-401: The British with their breech-loading rifles which could be rapidly aimed, fired, and reloaded. At least during the Second Boer War each commando was attached to a town, after which it was named (e.g. Bloemfontein Commando). Each town was responsible for a district, divided into wards. The Commando was commanded by a Kommandant and each ward by a Veldkornet or field-cornet - equivalent of

9699-425: The Citizen Force brigades. The 11th Armoured Brigade was itself disbanded on 1 October 1953. In the early 1950s the Union undertook, however, to provide one armoured division for active service in the Middle East in the event of war in the region. To this end some 200 Centurion tanks were ordered, and the first were delivered in July 1952. During Exercise Oranje, conducted in 1956, the Army trialled its Centurions for

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9858-415: The Commando System has been blamed for South African farm attacks as police are unable to effectively protect vast rural areas as effectively as local Commando Units. At their peak 186 of these units, ranging in size from a company to a battalion, existed. The number of individual commando members varied according to different sources, but it is estimated that there were between 50,000 and 70,000. Data from

10017-444: The Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burundi. Outside Africa, Mbeki was the chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement between 1999 and 2003 and the chairperson of the Group of 77 + China in 2006. He also pursued South -South solidarity in a coalition with India and Brazil under the IBSA Dialogue Forum , which was launched in June 2003 and held its first summit in September 2006. The IBSA countries together pressed for changes in

10176-733: The Engineers and Signals were grouped into the first of the 'type' formations, the South African Army Engineer Formation (in 1982) and the South African Army Signals Formation (in 1984). Both these formations were made directly responsible to Chief of Army. In 1984 Northern Transvaal Command was subdivided and Eastern Transvaal Command (Nelspruit) and Far North Command (Pietersburg) formed. The two new Commands were regarded as theatres and as such also had responsibility for conventional operations (and units) within their areas. For example, Far North Command had 73 Motorised Brigade within its area. Southern Cape Command may have been disbanded, and Northern Cape Command established, in 1986. In 1989

10335-635: The Permanent Force, Commandos, and a few selected Citizen Force units. The Citizen Force, through the 7 and 8 Divisions, provided the conventional defence force. By July 1987 the number of territorial commands was expanded to ten, and the Walvis Bay military area was often counted as an eleventh. The commands were the Western Province Command (HQ Cape Town , 1959–1998); Eastern Province Command (HQ Port Elizabeth, 1959–1998); Northern Cape Command (HQ Kimberley ); Orange Free State Command (HQ Bloemfontein, 1959–1998); Northern Transvaal Command (HQ Pretoria ); Witwatersrand Command (HQ Johannesburg, subject of

10494-420: The Permanent Force. UDF troops assumed internal security tasks in South Africa and quelled several revolts against South African domination in South-West Africa. South Africans suffered high casualties, especially in 1922, when an independent group of Khoikhoi – known as the Bondelswarts - Herero for the black bands that they wore into battle – led one of numerous revolts; in 1925, when a mixed-race population –

10653-466: The SA Army maintained three 'small' divisions , the 7th (HQ Johannesburg ), 8th (HQ Durban) and 9th (HQ Cape Town). They consisted of a reconnaissance battalion, two anti-aircraft defence battalions (AA guns), two battalions of artillery (G-5s and G-6s), a battalion of 127 mm MRLs, an engineer battalion, two battalions of Olifant MBTs, two battalions mounted in Ratel ICVs, and finally two battalions mounted in Buffel APCs. They were all amalgamated into

10812-408: The SACP. Thus the ANC instructed him to join the growing cohort of cadres who were leaving South Africa to evade police attention, receive training, and establish the overt ANC structures that were now illegal inside the country. Mbeki was detained twice by the police while attempting to leave the country, first in Rustenberg , when the group he was travelling with failed to pass themselves off as

10971-582: The SADF, with its South West African Territorial Force auxiliary, fought the counter-insurgency South African Border War against SWAPO rebels in South-West Africa (Namibia). These operations included the raising of special units such as the South African 32 Battalion . They also carried out operations in support of UNITA rebels in Angola and against the Cuban troops that supported the Angolan government. As far as conventional formations were concerned, 7 SA Division and 17, 18 and 19 Brigades were established on 1 April 1965. Difficulties with manning levels saw

11130-427: The SANDF to rely on short logistic lines for highly mechanised mobile forces in defence of national territory, as it causes many supply issues during modern foreign deployments. This is one of the major problems of the army and various solutions are being considered by the government to better equip forces deployed in out-of-area force projection operations. Though non-white personnel did serve as unarmed labourers with

11289-418: The SANDF. They are issued with state weapons. These commandos are often the first to receive a call for assistance from the farmer under attack, since farms are generally far away from police stations. Many farmers in the rural areas are linked to each other via a [MARNET] radio system. The commandos then call the police and inform them that a crime has been committed. They set up a roadblock and start looking for

11448-545: The South African Institute for Security Studies said that the D&;T plan, while alleviating, to an extent, the mistrust of the new South African leadership of the remaining apartheid-era South African Defence Force personnel in middle management positions, reduced the combat effectiveness of the Army, and was seen by 2011 as a mistake. Another mistaken decision was the decision to limit the force design of

11607-517: The South African 1st Infantry Division and the South African 2nd Infantry Division. However, one of this division's constituent brigades – 7th South African Infantry Battalion in Phalaborwa – did take part in the invasion of Madagascar in 1942. The 6th South African Armoured Division fought in numerous actions in Italy from 1944 to 1945. Of the 334,000 men volunteered for full time service in

11766-627: The South African Army during the war (including some 211,000 whites, 77,000 blacks and 46,000 Cape Coloureds and Asians), about 9,000 were killed in action, though the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has records of 11,023 known South African war dead during World War II . Wartime expansion was again followed by rapid demobilisation after World War II. By then, a century of Anglo-Boer clashes followed by decades of growing British influence in South Africa had fuelled Afrikaner resentment. Resurgent Afrikaner nationalism

11925-727: The South African Army fought in the East African, North African and Italian campaigns. In 1939, the army at home in South Africa was divided between a number of regional commands . These included Cape Command (with its headquarters at the Castle of Good Hope , Cape Town), Orange Free State Command , Natal Command , Witwatersrand Command (5th and 9th Brigades plus the Transvaal Horse Artillery ), Robert's Heights and Transvaal Command (HQ Robert's Heights ) and Eastern Province Command at East London . With

12084-785: The South African Army has fought in a number of major wars, including the First and Second World Wars , Rhodesian Bush War , and the long and bitter Border War . The South African Army has also been involved in many peacekeeping operations such as in the Lesotho intervention , Central African Republic Civil War , and multiple counter-insurgencies in Africa; often under the auspices of the United Nations, or as part of wider African Union operations in Southern Africa . It also played

12243-491: The South African government. These talks led to the unbanning of the ANC and the release of political prisoners. He also participated in many of the other important negotiations between the ANC and the government that eventually led to the democratisation of South Africa. As a sign of goodwill, de Klerk set free a few of the ANC's top leadership at the end of 1989, among them Govan Mbeki . On 2 February 1990, Botha's successor as state president, F. W. de Klerk , announced that

12402-526: The agricultural subsidy regimes of developed countries at the 2003 World Trade Organisation conference , and also pressed for reforms at the UN which would allow developing countries a stronger role. Indeed, Mbeki had called for reform at the UN as early as 1999 and 2000. In 2007, following a prolonged diplomatic campaign, South Africa secured a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for

12561-535: The armed forces. During 2006 the Army released its ARMY VISION 2020 guidelines document, in a fresh attempt to reassess the 1998 structures which had proved wanting. The army planned a return to a division based structure, from the previous structure where units are simply provided as needed to the two active brigades. In many respects the plan was an attempt to undo the effects of the Deloitte and Touche-inspired force design that came into effect in 2001. The new plan

12720-518: The army in both World Wars, a number of non-whites were employed in segregated units during the Border War, and a number of units were completely desegregated, it was not until 1994 – when South Africa achieved full democracy – that the army as a whole was made open to all races. Today the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has racial quotas to make sure that White, Black, Coloured, and Indian South Africans are proportionately represented in

12879-551: The ascension to power of the National Party , the Army's long-standing Commonwealth ties were afterwards cut. The South African Army was fundamentally changed by the end of Apartheid and its preceding upheavals, as the South African Defence Force became the SANDF. This process also led to the rank and age balance of the army deteriorating desperately, though this has greatly improved. During its history,

13038-662: The backbones of the rural protection plan, without a doubt" He also pointed out that, in 1998, former President Nelson Mandela included the commandos in a rural security plan, and "encouraged farmers, especially white farmers, to join the commandos and help in rural protection". "If you [take into account] how many operations commandos have been involved in, under the police - more than 50,000 operations in 2001 and 37,000 operations in 2002 (most of them road-blockades, foot patrols, vehicle patrols, farm visits, manning of observation posts) - that's nearly 90,000 operations in two years," Ferreira said. There have been some acknowledgements by

13197-507: The base. In Swaziland, he lived at Stanley Mabizela's family home in Manzini . Working with Albert Dhlomo, Mbeki was responsible for helping to re-establish underground ANC networks in the South African provinces of Natal and Transvaal , which shared a border with Swaziland. His counterpart inside South Africa was MK operative Jacob Zuma , who ran the Natal underground. According to Gevisser,

13356-480: The causal link between HIV and AIDS, he often posited a need to investigate alternate causes of and alternative treatments for AIDS, frequently suggesting that immunodeficiency was the indirect result of poverty. His political descent began at the ANC's Polokwane conference in December 2007, when he was replaced as ANC president by Zuma. His term as national president was not due to expire until June 2009, but, on 20 September 2008, he announced that he would resign at

13515-602: The centre of Washington Consensus -style reforms. It was therefore viewed by some as a "policy reversal" and embrace of neoliberalism , and thus as an abandonment of the ANC's socialist principles. Mbeki also emphasised communication between government, business, and labour, establishing four working groups – for big business, black business, trade unions, and commercial agriculture – under which ministers, senior officials, and Mbeki himself met regularly with business and union leaders to build trust and explore solutions to structural economic problems. Conservative groups such as

13674-576: The commandos have integrated farm workers into their structures. However, farm workers have a stake in the apprehending of perpetrators and may well be willing to participate in rural safety and security structures. As such, they are a significant resource in terms of any rural safety plan and need to be recruited more actively in this regard. Institute for Security Studies: Ploughing in Resources - The Investigation of Farm Attacks [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from this source, which

13833-626: The commandos were reformed alongside the Active Citizen Force as part of the Union Defence Force and South African Defence Force . This system was in operation until in February 2003. By 1912, however previous Commando members could join shooting associations. By 1940, such commandos were under control of the National Reserve of Volunteers. These commandos were formally reactivated by 1948. Each community

13992-501: The concept of a dual or two-track economy in South Africa, with severe underdevelopment in one segment of the population, and, for example in a 2003 newsletter, argued that high growth alone would only benefit the developed segment, without significant trickle-down benefits for the rest of the population. Yet, somewhat paradoxically, he explicitly advocated state support for the creation of a black capitalist class in South Africa. The government's black economic empowerment policy, which

14151-474: The cover of attending a UN conference. As part of this reconnaissance trip, he and his colleague Max Sisulu spent time with S'bu Ndebele , Max's sister Lindiwe Sisulu , and their associates in the Black Consciousness movement , which at the time was ascendent in neighbouring South Africa. Mbeki made a positive report to the ANC executive, and he was sent back to Swaziland to begin establishing

14310-665: The current Army Command that the Commandos had a utility which is now lacking. The system was phased out between 2003 and 2008 "because of the role it played in the apartheid era", according to the Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula . In 2005 then-Minister of Defence Mousioua Lekota explained that the process was "driven partly to counter racist elements within some of commandos, but also because of constitutional issues." This followed growing pressure after incidents of ongoing abuse of power were reported. The disbandment of

14469-539: The declaration of war in September 1939, the South African Army numbered only 5,353 regulars, with an additional 14,631 men of the Active Citizen Force (ACF) which gave peace time training to volunteers and in time of war would form the main body of the army. Pre-war plans did not anticipate that the army would fight outside southern Africa and it was trained and equipped only for bush warfare. One of

14628-474: The disestablishment of 7 SA Division on 1 November 1967 and its replacement by the Army Task Force (HQ) and 16 Brigade. Also during the 1970s, the SADF began accepting "non-whites" and women into the military as career soldiers, not only as temporary volunteers or reservists; however, the former served mostly, if not exclusively, in segregated units while the latter were not assigned to combat roles. By

14787-473: The early 1980s, Mbeki, Jacob Zuma and Aziz Pahad were appointed by Tambo to conduct private talks with representatives of the National Party government. Twelve meetings between the parties took place between November 1987 and May 1990, most of them held at Mells Park House , a country house near Bath in Somerset, England . By September 1989, the team secretly met with Maritz Spaarwater and Mike Louw in

14946-401: The early days up until their disbandment, the commandos were issued with firearms by the government of the day. The burghers were obliged to keep these firearms serviceable and ready at all times. Under the SADF, Commando units were grouped regionally under Commands: (Please note: This was not a wholly static structure and units could move occasionally between Groups, the diagrams below depict

15105-748: The end of the 1970s, the South African military was increasingly called upon to confront external threats and internal unrest which started escalating to armed confrontation between the South African state and the liberation forces. Principal among these armed groups was that of the ANC's Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), the AZAPO's Azanian People's Liberation Army and the PAC's Poqo. In 1973 two new infantry units were established: 7 South African Infantry Battalion (Bourke's Luck) and 8 SA Infantry Battalion (Upington), as well as 11 Commando (Kimberley) , which to

15264-535: The ensuing Rivonia Trial , Mbeki appeared before the United Nations (UN) Special Committee on Apartheid and later led a student march from Brighton to London, a distance of fifty miles. At the conclusion of the trial, Govan and seven other ANC leaders, among them Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu , were sentenced to life imprisonment . Mbeki completed his bachelor's degree in economics in May 1965 but, at

15423-571: The exhortation of O. R. Tambo , enrolled for a Master's in economics and development instead of returning to Africa to join Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the ANC's armed wing. His Master's dissertation was in economic geography . In addition to this and his political organising, he developed a deep fondness for Yeats , Brecht , Shakespeare , and blues music . After completing his Master's, in October 1966 he moved to London to work full-time for

15582-571: The first time in a simulated nuclear war situation. The Defence Act (No. 44) of 1957 renamed the UDF the South African Defence Force (SADF) and established within it some quick-reaction units, or Commandos, to respond to localised threats. The SADF, numbering about 20,000 in 1958, would grow to almost 80,000 in the next two decades. In 1960 there was another wave of regimental name-changing. Regiment Gideon Scheepers became Regiment Groot Karoo, and three regiments named after famous Boer generals Regiment De La Rey (given its 13 World War 2 battle honours,

15741-529: The government discovered that Mbeki was involved in military activity inside Swaziland, and he and Dhlomo – as well as Zuma, who was in the country illegally – were detained and then deported , though they managed to negotiate their deportation to the neutral territory of Mozambique rather than to South Africa. Mbeki's management of the Swaziland base later became a point of contention between him and Mac Maharaj , with whom his relationship has remained acrimonious decades later. In 1978, Maharaj and Mbeki argued at

15900-462: The heads of state of Nigeria, Algeria, Mozambique, and Tanzania, perhaps his central foreign policy instrument was multilateral cooperation . Mbeki's government, and Mbeki personally, are frequently cited as the single most significant driving force behind the creation in 2001 of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which aims to develop a framework for accelerating economic development and cooperation in Africa. Olivier calls Mbeki

16059-581: The home of ANC secretary general Duma Nokwe and where he intended to sit for A-level examinations. The ANC had recently been banned in the aftermath of the Sharpeville massacre , but Mbeki remained highly politically active, becoming national secretary of the African Students' Association, a new (and short-lived) youth movement envisaged as replacing the now illegal ANC Youth League. It was also during this period that Nokwe recruited Mbeki into

16218-596: The initiation of relationships with many of the domestic activists who later became his political allies. Moreover, he was responsible for innovating some of the vocabulary which became emblematic of the 1980s anti-apartheid struggle, which burgeoned in the aftermath of the 1976 Soweto uprising . Such phrases as "mass democratic movement," "people's power," and the exhortation to " make the country ungovernable " are attributed to Mbeki, and gained widespread popularity inside South Africa through Radio Freedom broadcasts written by DIP or by Mbeki personally. Zuma has said that it

16377-504: The intolerance that comes from many who share that quality. They are loyal and true. They are their own harshest critics. They both have the gift to draw people to them... They were soul mates , different generations fusing at that particular time. — Adelaide Tambo reflects on Mbeki's relationship with O. R. Tambo , June 2002 He established some of his own high-level intelligence networks, with key underground operatives reporting directly to him, and Gevisser claims that these led to

16536-405: The issue of the 2014 South African Defence Review . With the release of that review in mid-2014 it appears possible that the 2006 planning may be reinvigorated. Concerns have been raised as to the operational capabilities of the army given the high proportion of the army's budget spent on salaries (around 80%) and low amounts budgeted for capital (5%) and operational (15%) capacity. In addition to

16695-478: The large ratio of officers to soldiers, critical skills shortages, high average age of service personnel (48 years), and low proportion that are medically fit enough to be readily deployable (about 10% of personnel). President Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki ( Xhosa: [tʰaɓɔ ʼmbɛːki] ; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at

16854-499: The left was on public display by December 2002, when Mbeki attacked what he called divisive "ultra-leftists" in a speech to the ANC's 51st National Conference . However, Mbeki clearly never subscribed to undiluted neoliberalism. He retained various social democratic programmes and principles, and generally endorsed a mixed economy in South Africa. One of the ANC's slogans in the campaign for his 2004 re-election was, "A people's contract for growth and development." He popularised

17013-685: The left wing of the ANC, and from the leaders of the ANC's Tripartite Alliance partners, the Congress of South African Trade Unions and South African Communist Party . It was these leftist elements which supported Jacob Zuma over Mbeki in the political rivalry that erupted after Mbeki removed the latter from his post as deputy president in 2005. As president, Mbeki had an apparent predilection for foreign policy and particularly for multilateralism . His Pan-Africanism and vision for an " African renaissance " are central parts of his political persona, and commentators suggest that he secured for South Africa

17172-493: The local community to assist the police. This also contributes to the high rate of successful farm investigations. ... On 14 February 2003 President Mbeki announced that the commando system would be phased out and replaced with sector policing under the leadership of the SAPS. The reasoning behind this was that crime prevention was not the mandate of the SANDF, but the responsibility of the SAPS.1 The President’s announcement created

17331-481: The minister of defence to deploy Citizen Force troops and Commandos for "riot" control, often to quell anti- apartheid demonstrations, especially when it deteriorated into mob riots with loss of life. The Defence Act (No. 85) of 1967 also expanded military obligations, requiring white male citizens to perform national service, including an initial period of training, a period of active duty, and several years in reserve status, subject to immediate call-up. From 1966 to 1989

17490-460: The most celebrated of the 1934 battalions), Regiment Louw Wepener and Regiment De Wet were inexplicably renamed Regiment Wes-Transvaal, Regiment Oos-Vrystaat and Regiment Noord-Vrystaat. After strenuous efforts, Regiment Wes-Transvaal, Regiment Oos-Vrystaat and Regiment Noord-Vrystaat regained their honoured names. Following the declaration of the Republic of South Africa in 1961, the "Royal" title

17649-556: The new Minister of Defence, Frans Erasmus , aimed ' to level the playing-fields' within the Union Defence Force, which was strongly British-oriented in usages, structures, uniforms and nomenclature. This developed from an attempt at affirmative action into a 'politically tinged purge'. The various Commando units, previously 'Skietverenigings', were later classified as Type A, B or C independent Commandos and continued as single-battalion or small independent units. As part of

17808-401: The official army magazine SA Soldier of November 2005 states that at closure the composition of the Commandos were: These members were given three options: The effectiveness of the commandos varies from one area to the next. The commandos are tasked with assisting the police with rural safety and security. The commando is often made up of local farmers who may or may not be former members of

17967-485: The pair developed "an unlikely rapport." Mbeki was also responsible for recruiting new MK operatives, for liaising with South African student and labour activists, and for liaising with Inkatha, which was becoming dominant in Natal. However, still another part of his duties was to act as the ANC's official representative in the country, and to maintain good diplomatic relations with the Swazi government. In March 1976,

18126-439: The police do, too. But the police force is stretched thin in farm areas, trying to cover vast areas with few officers or vehicles. The farmers often get there much sooner." The retirement age of members of the commandos was 65 although it could be extended to 75 years. Community cells were administered under distinct local commando units. Several local commandos units were administered as Group units. Several Groups, usually in

18285-558: The post-war reorganisation, the Defence Rifle Associations were disbanded in 1948 and replaced by a new Commando organisation with a strength of 90,000 men. At the same time, the Afrikaans-oriented single-battalion regiments founded in 1934 underwent at least one change of name and sometimes more. An early victim was the renowned Middellandse Regiment, which became Regiment Gideon Scheepers in 1954. It

18444-432: The problems to continuously face South Africa during the war was the shortage of available men. Due to its racial policies it would only consider arming men of European descent, which limited the available pool of men aged between 20 and 40 to around 320,000. In addition the declaration of war on Germany had the support of only a narrow majority in the South African parliament and was far from universally popular. Indeed, there

18603-424: The ranks to head the ANC's Department of International Affairs and was involved in the ANC's negotiations with the South African government. Mbeki played a major role in turning the international media against apartheid. Raising the diplomatic profile of the ANC, Mbeki acted as a point of contact for foreign governments and international organisations and he was extremely successful in this position. Mbeki also played

18762-587: The recommendations of the South African Defence Review 1998 . The 'type' formation force structure was implemented in accordance with the recommendations of auditing firm Deloitte and Touche , who were contracted to draw up a plan to make the SA Army more economically efficient. The Deloitte and Touche plan had the army separate its combat forces into 'silo' style formations for armour, infantry, artillery, and engineers. Deane-Peter Baker of

18921-695: The request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC). Before that, he was deputy president under Nelson Mandela from 1994 to 1999. The son of Govan Mbeki , a renowned ANC intellectual, Mbeki has been involved in ANC politics since 1956, when he joined the ANC Youth League , and has been a member of the party's National Executive Committee since 1975. Born in the Transkei , he left South Africa aged twenty to attend university in England, and spent almost three decades in exile abroad, until

19080-758: The request of the ANC National Executive Committee. The ANC's decision to "recall" Mbeki was understood to be linked to a high court judgement, handed down earlier that month, in which judge Chris Nicholson had alleged improper political interference in the National Prosecuting Authority and specifically in the corruption charges against Zuma . Nicholson's judgement was overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeal in January 2009, by which time Mbeki had been replaced as president by Kgalema Motlanthe . Mbeki

19239-406: The role of ambassador to the steady flow of delegates from the elite sectors of white South Africa. These included academics, clerics, business people and representatives of liberal white groups who travelled to Lusaka to assess the ANC's views on a democratic, free South Africa. Mbeki was seen as pragmatic, eloquent, rational and urbane. He was known for his diplomatic style and sophistication. In

19398-455: The secrecy of earlier years and openly gave interviews and access to American journalists, to the disapproval of some hardline communists. According to various sources, he was responsible for reforming the public image of the ANC from that of a terrorist organisation to that of a "government-in-waiting." When I look at Thabo, I look at my husband's son. Physically, they bear a striking resemblance... They are both perfectionists, but without

19557-414: The structure from the late 1980s) By 2005, after Army restructuring several groups became amalgamated under General Support Bases, GSBs. Group numbers therefore did not follow the original sequence. On 14 February 2003, President Mbeki announced the disbanding of the commando system over six years, to be replaced by 'specialised police units'. The Democratic Alliance stated that this action would be

19716-608: The suspects. There are three types of commando structures in the rural areas: Area-bound reaction force units are composed of people who live in towns and cities. When there is an emergency these members are called upon to assist, and are issued with a uniform and rifle for that purpose. The members of this unit are trained with police reservists to conduct patrols, roadblocks, follow-up operations, cordon and search operations, and farm visits. Home and Hearth protection reaction force commando members are made up of farmers, smallholders, and their labourers. Once an incident has been reported on

19875-527: The then prime minister, faced widespread Afrikaner opposition to fighting alongside Great Britain so soon after the Second Boer War , and had to quell a military rebellion by some of the more extremist elements before he could send an expeditionary force of some 67,000 troops to invade German South West Africa (now Namibia ). The German troops stationed there eventually surrendered to the South African forces in July 1915. In 1920 South Africa received

20034-690: The troopship Mendi – while transporting 607 members of the South African Native Labour Corps from Britain to France – was struck and cut almost in half by another ship. In addition, the war against the German and Askari forces in German East Africa also involved more than 20,000 South African troops; they fought under General Jan Smuts's command when he directed the British campaign against there in 1915. (During

20193-619: The war, the army was led by General Smuts, who had re-joined the army from his position as Minister of Defence on the outbreak of the war.) Coloured South Africans also saw notable action with the Cape Corps in Palestine . With a population of roughly 6 million, between 1914 - 1918, over 250,000 South Africans of all races voluntarily served their country. Thousands more served in the British Army directly, with over 3,000 joining

20352-637: The war. Eight South Africans won the Victoria Cross for gallantry, the Empire's highest and prestigious military medal. The Battle of Delville Wood and the sinking of the SS Mendi being the greatest single incidents of loss of life. Wartime casualties and post-war demobilisation weakened the UDF. New legislation in 1922 re-established conscription for white males over the age of 21 for four years of military training and service and re-constituted

20511-642: Was Mbeki's HIV/AIDS policy. His government did not introduce a national mother-to-child transmission prevention programme until 2002, when it was mandated by the Constitutional Court , nor did it make antiretroviral therapy available in the public healthcare system until late 2003. Subsequent studies have estimated that these delays caused hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths. Mbeki himself, like his Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang , has been described as an AIDS denialist , "dissident," or sceptic. Although he did not explicitly deny

20670-671: Was Mbeki's "drafting skills" which enabled his ascendancy in the ANC and ultimately to the presidency. In 1980, Mbeki led the ANC's delegation to Zimbabwe, where the party hoped to establish relations with Robert Mugabe 's newly elected government. This was a sensitive mission, because the ANC had historically been strongly allied to the Zimbabwe African People's Union , the arch rival of Mugabe's ZANU-PF . Working primarily through Mugabe's righthand man, future Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa , Mbeki negotiated an extraordinarily congenial agreement between ZANU-PF and

20829-418: Was a child, his family was separated when Govan moved alone to Ladismith for a teaching job. Mbeki has said that he was "born into the struggle ," and recalls that his childhood home was decorated with portraits of Karl Marx and Mahatma Gandhi . Indeed, Govan named him after senior South African communist Thabo Mofutsanyana . Mbeki began attending school in 1948, the same year that the National Party

20988-599: Was a significant minority actively opposed to the war and under these conditions conscription was never an option. The expansion of the army and its deployment overseas depended entirely on volunteers. The 1st South African Infantry Division took part in several actions in East Africa in 1940, North Africa in 1941 and 1942, including the Second Battle of El Alamein , before being withdrawn to South Africa. The 2nd South African Infantry Division also took part in

21147-423: Was already seen as his most likely successor. In December 1997, the ANC's 50th National Conference elected Mbeki unopposed to succeed Mandela as ANC president. On some accounts, the election was not contested because the top leadership had prepared assiduously for the conference, lobbying and negotiating on Mbeki's behalf in the interest of unity and continuity. Pursuant to the 1999 national elections , which

21306-509: Was also decided to establish and maintain two complete army divisions in the UDF: namely 1 SA Infantry Division and 6 SA Armoured Division , consisting of 1, 2, 3, 12, and 13 (CF) Infantry Brigades and the (PF) 11th Armoured Brigade . The divisions were formally established with effect from 1 July 1948, but with the exception of 11 Brigade they were disbanded on 1 November 1949, mainly as a result of difficulties in obtaining volunteer recruits to man

21465-545: Was an important factor in the growth of the National Party (NP) as the 1948 elections approached. After the narrow election victory by the NP in 1948, the government began the steady Afrikanerisation of the military; it expanded military service obligations and enforced conscription laws more strictly. Most UDF conscripts underwent three months of Citizen Force training in their first year of service, and an additional three weeks of training each year for four years after that. In 1948,

21624-433: Was appointed head of the ANC's information department in 1984 and then became head of the international department in 1989, reporting directly to Oliver Tambo , then President of the ANC. Tambo was Mbeki's long-time mentor. In 1985, Mbeki was a member of a delegation that began meeting secretly with representatives of the South African business community, and in 1989, he led the ANC delegation that conducted secret talks with

21783-592: Was appointed national deputy president. In subsequent years, it became apparent that he was Mandela's chosen successor, and he was elected unopposed as ANC president in 1997, enabling his rise to the presidency as the ANC's candidate in the 1999 elections . While deputy president, Mbeki had been regarded as a steward of the government's Growth, Employment and Redistribution policy, introduced in 1996, and as president he continued to subscribe to relatively conservative, market-friendly macroeconomic policies. During his presidency, South Africa experienced falling public debt ,

21942-546: Was born on 18 June 1942 in Mbewuleni , a small village in the former homeland of Transkei , now part of the Eastern Cape . The second of four siblings, he had one sister, Linda (born 1941, died 2003), and two brothers, Moeletsi (born 1945) and Jama (born 1948, died 1982). His parents were Epainette (died 2014), a trained teacher, and Govan (died 2001), a shopkeeper, teacher, journalist, and senior activist in

22101-620: Was disbanded on 31 March 1926 and the number of military districts was reduced from 16 to six on 1 April 1926. The Brigade HQ of the SA Field Artillery was also disbanded. In 1933 the six military districts were redesignated Commands . As a result of its conscription policies, the UDF increased its active-duty forces to 56,000 by the late 1930s; 100,000 men also belonged to the National Riflemen's Reserve, which provided weapons training and practice. During World War II,

22260-448: Was divided up into smaller more manageable sections called cells. Each cell comprised a number of farmers and or households, depending on the size of the area and dispersion of the area's inhabitants. Cell members were in contact with each other by means of telephone or a radio system ( Marnet ) which served as a backup communication system in the event of the telephone lines being out of order. Alternative communication systems were therefore

22419-793: Was dropped from the names of army regiments like the Natal Carbineers and the Durban Light Infantry , and the Crown removed from regimental badges. In the early 1960s, the military threat by the South-West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) and its Communist backers in South West Africa prompted the South African government to increase military service obligations and to extend periods of active duty. The Defence Act (No. 12) of 1961 authorised

22578-613: Was elected onto the ANC's top decision-making organ, the National Executive Committee . It was during this period that he began to ghostwrite some of Tambo's speeches and reports, and he accompanied Tambo on important occasions, such as to the infamous December 1972 meeting with Mangosuthu Buthelezi , the head of Inkatha , in London. In 1973, he helped to establish the ANC's office in Botswana, considered

22737-483: Was elected with a mandate to legislate apartheid . The Bantu Education Act was implemented towards the end of his school career, and in 1955 he arrived at the Lovedale Institute , an eminent mission school outside Alice , as part of the last class which would be permitted to follow the same curriculum as white students. At Lovedale, he was a year behind Chris Hani , his future colleague and rival in

22896-472: Was established in August 1974 and was active until 30 January 1977. It appears from Colonel Lionel Crook's book on 71 Brigade that four of the six brigades were redesignations of 16, 17, 18, and 19 Brigades. 71 Motorised Brigade was the former 17 Brigade, 72 Brigade was the former 18 Brigade, 73 Brigade was a new formation, 81 Brigade was the former 16 Brigade, 82 Brigade was the former 19 Brigade, and 84 Brigade

23055-727: Was expanded and consolidated under his administration, was criticised precisely for benefitting only a small black elite and thereby failing to address inequality . According to academic and diplomat Gerrit Olivier , during his presidency Mbeki "succeeded in placing Africa high on the global agenda." He was known for his Pan-Africanism , having emphasised related themes both in his famous " I am an African " speech in 1996 and in his first speech to Parliament as president in June 1999, when he foregrounded his trademark ideal of an " African renaissance ." He advocated for greater solidarity among African countries and, in place of reliance on Western intervention and aid, for greater self-sufficiency for

23214-461: Was firmly opposed to forcible or manufactured regime change in Zimbabwe, and also opposed the use of sanctions. The Economist posited an "Mbeki doctrine" holding that South Africa "cannot impose its will on others, but it can help to deal with instability in African countries by offering its resources and its leadership to bring rival groups together, and to keep things calm until an election

23373-569: Was for 720 days (two years) and subsequent reserve duty was a further 720 days. The reserve duty was broken up depending on the needs of the units and of the individual concerned. This generally worked out as a ninety-day "operational" commitment one year, followed the next year by a thirty-day commitment in addition to any courses, parades or admin evenings that might be required. Members of the Reserve were able to volunteer for further duty in addition to that mandated. This additional, voluntary, service

23532-576: Was in reality a military constabulary similar to the Cape Mounted Riflemen, tasked primarily with police work in their respective geographical areas.' In 1913 and 1914, the new 23,400-member Citizen Force was called on to suppress several industrial strikes on the Witwatersrand . In accordance with the 1912 Defence Act, the Active Citizen Force was established under Brig. Gen. C.F. Beyers on 1 July 1913. The authorised strength of

23691-441: Was new. In the early 1980s, the Army was restructured in order to counter all forms of insurgency while at the same time maintaining a credible conventional force. To meet these requirements, the Army was subdivided into conventional and counterinsurgency forces. The counterinsurgency forces were further divided into nine territorial commands, each of which was responsible to the Chief of the Army. This force consisted of members of

23850-411: Was not elected to any of the "Top Six" leadership positions. Sisulu was elected ANC deputy president, almost certainly as a compromise candidate, and trade unionist Cyril Ramaphosa was elected secretary general. According to historian Tom Lodge, Ramaphosa's election was a putsch carried out by the party's "internal wing," in defiance of the former exiles and political prisoners who had hitherto dominated

24009-617: Was not strictly enforced as there were a large number of volunteers. Instead, half of the white males aged from 17 to 25 were drafted by lots into the ACF. For training purposes, the Union was divided into 15 military districts. Initially, the Permanent Force consisted of five regiments of the South African Mounted Riflemen (SAMR), each with a battery of artillery attached. Dorning says that '..the SAMR

24168-429: Was promoted again: he replaced Nokwe as head of DIP, and simultaneously was appointed Tambo's political secretary, an extremely influential position in which he became one of Tambo's closest advisors and confidantes. He also continued to ghostwrite for Tambo, now in a formal capacity. At DIP, his approach was encapsulated by the change he made to the department's name, replacing "propaganda" with "publicity." He eschewed

24327-529: Was recognised with the award of the Emblem for Voluntary Service (EVS) (now the Badge for Reserve Voluntary Service (BRVS)) for five years of voluntary service over and above the mandated commitment. The requirements for national service changed several times during the 1980s and the early 1990s in response to national security needs, and they were suspended in 1993. From the early 1990s (after 1992) to 1 April 1997,

24486-504: Was redesignated HQ 7 South African Infantry Division . Two years later, it was decided to organise the Army's conventional force into two divisions under a corps headquarters. Both were primarily reserve (Citizen Force) formations, though the division and brigade HQs were Permanent Force. The headquarters of the two divisions were established on 1 August 1974, and 8th Armoured Division was active at its headquarters at Lord's Grounds , Durban, until at least 27 September 1992. 1 SA Corps itself

24645-838: Was responsible to a General. In theory, a General was responsible for four commandos. He in turn was responsible to the Commander-in-Chief (CIC) of the Republic. In the Transvaal , the CIC was called the Commandant-General and in the Free State the Hoofdkommandant or Chief Commandant. The CIC was responsible to the President. Other auxiliary ranks were created in war time, such as Vleiskorporaal ("meat corporal"), responsible for issuing rations. In 1912,

24804-433: Was sent to Lusaka , Zambia, where the ANC-in-exile had set up its new headquarters under acting president Tambo. He was to fill the post of administrative secretary to the ANC Revolutionary Council , a body newly established to coordinate the political and military efforts of the ANC and SACP. He was later moved to the propaganda section, but continued to attend the council's meetings, and in 1975 he (again alongside Hani)

24963-510: Was time-consuming and, therefore, the members of a cell would be able to protect themselves and rely on support from neighbours and other members of the cell to ensure immediate response in an emergency. For this reason a cell would plan for certain contingencies before they happen. The local Commando would assist the cells with drawing up contingency plans. "The farmer-commandos receive a few weekends of training as army reservists and are each given an assault rifle. When they respond to an incident,

25122-441: Was to be – as in Swaziland – the ANC's first representative to the country. Although there was some debate about whether the appointment was a signal that he had been sidelined, Gevisser says that Mbeki performed well in Lagos, establishing good relations with Olusegun Obasanjo 's regime and establishing an ANC presence to eclipse that of its rival Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). When he returned to Lusaka from Lagos in 1978, he

25281-415: Was to create two divisions and a special operations brigade to conduct mountain, jungle, airborne and amphibious operations. Specialised training would have had to be carried out, as and when funds become available. A works regiment was also to have been created, to help with the maintenance of army and Defence Force buildings and infrastructure. However the plan was not implemented, and appeared to stall until

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