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The Democratic Alliance is outraged that months after a man was killed at the 6 SA Infantry Battalion training area outside Makhanda, nothing has been done to make the area safe. In late September, a local scrap-metal collector died when an old, unexploded bomb went off inside the training ground. This should have sparked urgent action from the South African National Defence Force. Instead, they have done nothing and carried on as if the incident never occurred.

As the Defence Department has proven itself completely inept in securing its bases, the DA in Parliament will push for intervention to ensure:

• Fixed and secured perimeter fences across bases in South Africa.
• Cleared unexploded bombs and dangerous items.
• Investigations on why fence repairs have been stalled for years.
• Reporting back to Parliament on progress made.
• Working with communities in ensuring civilian safety.

This case in Makhanda is not isolated. For more than 25 years, civilians, including children, have been killed and maimed or after picking up leftover military explosives from this base:

• 1998: Two children killed; another child lost an eye.
• June 2005: Three people, including a five-year-old boy, killed when a mortar exploded in Bowker Street.
• 2021: A scrap-metal collector from Nkanini lost both legs after grenades from the base blew up in his home.
• September 2025: A scrap-metal collector killed inside the training area.

The Defence Force has long known that huge sections of fencing around this 7 000-hectare area are missing, broken or stolen. People can walk straight onto land where soldiers fire live ammunition. Parliament warned in 2023 that this was a serious danger, but still nothing has changed.

Months after the latest death, the Department has not initiated any plan, repair work or safety sweep. Nothing has started, despite knowing exactly how dangerous this area is. Blaming “defunding” of the SANDF is no longer good enough. This is a failure of leadership and responsibility.

This incident also follows revelations of ten military bases across the country being sites of illegal land invasions, where information settlements with livestock have been built. The manner in which the SANDF has treated our military bases is nothing short of shambolic.

It is now time for Parliament to intervene to protect lives, secure our bases and rebuild our military. The excuses end now.

Issued by Chris Hattingh MP - DA Spokesperson on Defence & Military Veterans