August 3,
2008: In the last three years, the South
African Air Force (SAAF) has lost 91 pilots and 822 aircraft maintenance
personnel. The SAAF has about 200
aircraft and helicopters, supported by 9,500 personnel (including 1,500
civilians). There are sixty combat aircraft, but only a third have qualified
pilots to fly them. About a third of the non-combat aircraft lack pilots.
Flying hours are restricted because of a shortage of qualified maintenance
personnel.
The cause
of all this is money, and fear. The pilots and technicians can make more money
in the civilian sector, and even more if they leave Africa. The fear element is
multifold. First, there is the high crime rate, which makes SAAF personnel fear
for the safety of themselves and their families. Then there is the fear of
white pilots and technicians that the governments affirmative action policies
will limit their promotion opportunities. This also creates fears that
unqualified pilots and technicians will be allowed to work with aircraft. This
last fear is denied by the government, which points out that senior government
officials use air force transports frequently.
The SAAF
has had success in recruiting new pilots, with 123 in training. But aircraft
technicians are harder to find, largely because there is a nationwide shortage
of technically trained people.
