Promotion in the army is earned

(Image: SA Army)

This was announced on Thursday when army chief, Lieutenant-General Vusimuzi Ramakala Masono along with high ranking officials briefed Parliament's Standing Committee on Defence on issues around transformation.

Masono said that experience alone would not amount to promotion, citing that discipline was also a factor.

He said this was also influenced by the number of available posts and "there is competition for fewer posts at the top...the higher you go the fewer the posts."

His colleague, Major-General Sazi Veldtman added that promotion could not be done in a vacuum. Each vacant post has its requirements and performance was one of the most important factors for promotion.

On transformation, their presentation showed that 55% of Africans were in management, along with white people who constituted 39% while 6.1% were coloureds and 0.1 Asians.

It was also indicated to the committee that some white recruits were leaving the army citing that they were not promoted.

The organisation said that although transformation seemed to be proceeding smoothly, the "lack of an attractive exit mechanism is still a concern." This resulted in members not wanting to leave in order to pave the way for others.

The delegation also complained that their human resources budget was higher than that for their operations.

Although the team seemed prepared for the meeting, it was requested to return to Parliament early next year and provide more answers to MPs questions as well as to make a specific presentation on posts in the Army.