Lack of funds grounds SA airforce
Date: 28 January 2012
Graeme Hosken
Hundreds of millions of rands in cash injections are needed to keep the SA Air Force (SAAF) flying.
That was the stark message delivered by air force chief Lieutenant General Carlo Gagiano in Pretoria yesterday.
Gagiano, who laid bare the situation facing the SAAF was speaking at the annual air force day parade held at Air Forœ Base Swartkop.
Hammerring home the point was the fact that the parade's planned fly-past, which usually includes aircraft from all the squadrons , was cancelled, apparently because of the cash crisis.
"This parade is different because I need to make a statemelt. Yes, there is an element of austerity measures present in it.
"The statement of today's parade I make is that if the balance between the human resources budget and operating budget is not corrected, very few aircraft will fly."
Gagiano's no holds-barred warning comes as sources with inside information on the SAAF's financial crisis praised the chief and his small team for keeping the airforce flying.
"What Gagiano and his team have done to keep the air force functioning with the shoestring budget which they have been given is nothing short of a miracle," a source said.
"The fact that aircraft are still able to fly is beyond belief."
Gagiano said overcoming the crisis was not just about money "We are not funded totally by a long shot, but to deal with this is about more than money. It is about thinking and operating smart. It is about ensuring that we do everything to maximise what we get to ensure that we get the maximum flying hours out of what we have."
Praising the air force's achievements in delivering hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid to Somalia, and its operations in Libya and Ivory Coast, Gagiano added that there were serious shortcommings in the SAAF's capabilities, "which if lost would be difficult to regain".
These included VIP air transportation, maritime surveillance and light air transport, which lacked suitable aircraft.
"Other challenges are around adequate electronic warfare platforms, unmanned aerial vehicle systems, sensors and night capabilities.
Adding to the challenges was the steady decline of infrastructure.
"We have to think smart to deal with this and roll up our sleeves and get involved ourselves. Just the damage caused to the Hoedspruit air force base from recent flooding in Mpumalanga will run into tens of millions of rands, with repairs estimated at R36m.
"On staffing challenges, the SAAF needs to focus on performance management, concentrate more on training, mentoring career management and discipline.
"Training is an issue which must be pursued to the fullest degree," he said.
Explaining how the air force had landed up in the present predicament, Gagiano said there were various causes, from a lack of financial resources to government priorities rightfully being elsewhere, such as with health and education.
"Defence is simply not on the front end of government's priorities and this along with a skewing of human resources and operations budgets, has also led to this."
Asked why the budgets had become skewed, Gagiano said it was the result of the number of staff retained in the air force following the economic decline, and the justified increase of salaries.
"Also there are no proper exit strategies, meaning we have retained a lot of people."
Highlighting initiatives to get the maximum out of the SAAF's budget, Gagiano said they devised several highly successful cost-saving projects, which had reduced the cost of training. These included the use of simulators and flying cheaper aircraft systems.
"Along with these strategies, we have several other plans to ensure that we can get the maximum number of flying hours to ensure that we remain at the operational level we are required to be at," he said.
Source: Pretoria News
