The SAAF Forum

New Navy chief aims to get ships back to sea

Dean Wingrin

Vice Admiral Monde Lobese knows he has a tough mission ahead of him, having only been appointed Chief of the South African Navy on 1 November.

Serving as Deputy Chief Navy to Vice Admiral Mosiwa Hlongwane, Lobese is no stranger to the difficulties facing the Navy.

“It has never dawned on me that one day I would be bestowed with this honour by the leadership of this country, to lead the South African Navy,” Lobese told invited guests after the official Chief of the Navy Change of Command Parade in Simons Town this week. “I have always seen myself as a simple sailor that is ready to serve. But now that the country has this confidence in me, I’m ready to take up the challenge and lead the South African Navy to greatness, so that we will be able to return to our former glory, of taking our ships back to sea.”

“The Navy has been alongside for quite some time now. Not because of a lack of will but due to lack of financial resources for us to be able to take the Navy to sea. With the little resources that we are allocated, we will do our utmost best to see that we maintain our vessels, ships and submarines, so that it will be able to provide the maritime defence that we need for the country,” Lobese told defenceWeb.

Lobese is mindful that the Government is required to provide for social items such as housing, education and health and is facing serious economic challenges. But, Lobese said, this cannot be at the expense of the security of South Africa and the Defence Force is doing all in its power that it gets the necessary resources required to keep its ships at sea and provide a maritime defence of the country.

The SANDF, he says, is making a concerted effort to address the budgetary shortfalls through continuous internal departmental reprioritization to enable the Navy to execute its Constitutional mandate, but the Navy must also play its part to strive to do more with the little resources at its disposal. “We have a mammoth task ahead of us,” Lobese explained.

The SA Navy by virtue of its mandate has maritime relations with other Navies across the globe. Maintaining good order at sea is fundamentally a collective and cooperative activity, meaning that navies must work together, which, for Lobese, is the basis for naval diplomacy.

Furthermore, Lobese intends to bring the SA Navy to Africa through purposeful engagement with African regions from North Africa, East Africa, West Africa, Central Africa and the SADC on bilateral and multi-lateral exercises, in line with the spirit of African Renaissance.

Lobese acknowledged that no one person, standing alone, could meet these responsibilities. “It’s a joint effort which would require my sailors to be on board because no one man can actually come up with all the solutions; the solutions will come from the entire navy family together. Not just those that are in uniform but also the public service personnel that serve in the SA Navy, as well as the broader industry because industry is a force multiplier for us to be able to achieve our maritime objectives.”

Underlying everything, Lobese said, “is a foundation, a bedrock, that enables all we do…our people. This has been in part due to the strides the SA Navy has made in the investment of training. The exposure of personnel to international exercises and foreign learning opportunities has greatly contributed to their skills and capabilities. This is an area that continued investment should be made.”

Lobese also played tribute to his predecessor, acknowledging that Hlongwane “navigated the SA Navy through rough seas and swell tides with unrelenting commitment and service for duty. We shall continue to build on the foundation (Hlongwane) has laid.”