Read about South African invasion of Lesotho, it was a complete joke. The ANC have ruin the South African army, today South Africa could not fight it way out of a wet paper bag.
HIV infection rate of up to 50 per cent.
Only four of its 168 battle tanks operational.
The 76,000-strong army is so poorly equipped and manned that at present only a single brigade of about 3,000 soldiers could be deployed, according to a briefing given to MPs by Defence Ministry officials.
One battalion of 600 infantry soldiers recently received only £250 for a month's food, ammunition, fuel and other supplies.
The air force runs out of aviation fuel in September of each year because of lack of funding and has to cancel all training sorties. And the navy is worried it will not have enough fit sailors with adequate training to man four new corvettes and three submarines ordered as part of a £4 billion arms procurement package.
"It has become a bit of a farce," said Philip Schalkwyk, the defence spokesman for the opposition Democratic Alliance.
"People think we have first-class armed forces but sadly the opposite is now true.
In short Mugabe would hand Mandela his ass on a plate. Mugabe's 5th Brigade was trained by the North Koreans.
The 5th brigade alone wiped out 20,000 people in Matabeleland...
Kenny, a few points on this:
1) The HIV infection rate in the armed forces isn't THAT bad. I know that maybe the case in some units of the army, but the Navy and Air Force are far better in this regard.
2) Those main battle tanks are decades old, and were supposed to be replaced in the 2000s, as part of the same rework of the SANDF that saw them buy new APCs, Gripen fighters, frigates and submarines. Those will get replaced eventually, too.
3) With a budget of USD $4.2 Billion in 2009, I don't buy the idea that a battalion only get 250 pounds for a month. I'd like to see where you got that one from. Corruption may hurt in the SA Army, but I do not believe that.
4) Mugabe's forces in 1996 were if anything worse that the South Africans. The South Africans have them outnumbered on size and have better equipment. They have a lot of equipment that needs work badly, but if nay sort of fight was imminent, that work would get done. And as I pointed out, such a war wouldn't happen unless the South Africans got help, and that in itself would mean a major upgrade of the SANDF.
5) Mugabe's Fifth Brigade are trained in intimidation, not warfighting. Killing civilians is not exactly something most soldiers boast about.