CAPE TOWN - Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has ordered the SA National Defence Force to recruit more whites to the army.

Mapisa-Nqakula made the announcement during a media briefing ahead of tabling her budget vote in Parliament on Tuesday.

“When I look at the entry levels, of the army, the younger ones you see that if you go into a hall…you can literally count…how many white young people are coming into the force,” she said.

“That’s a matter of concern because we want to build the kind of defence force which in five years will still continue to reflect the demographics of our society.”

Mapisa-Nqakula has tasked the SANDF to develop a recruitment strategy targeting under-represented groups.

At the same time, Mapisa-Nqakula announced she would be raising the retirement age for SANDF staff from 60 to 65.

“I don’t know why on earth we developed a regulation which directs us to get our people to retire at the age of 60,” she said.

Mapisa-Nqakula said there was no need to change the law, but she would alter regulations which would give effect to the new retirement age.

“My view is that the younger generation does not have an appreciation of how we have reached this point where we are.

"Only people who have that kind of experience is those of you who went through this process of integration in 1994,” said the minister.

“My view is that first we need to have a clear succession plan as to how we will get to five to ten years in terms of long term planning.”

- ANA