'Criminal' job ad a mistake

2007-01-29 21:05

Cape Town - The wording of department of defence advertisements calling for job applications from people who have no "serious" criminal record is an error, according to the defence ministry.

"I'm advised by the department that that is a mistake," spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi said on Monday.

The adverts, for recruitment into military skills development programmes in the navy and air force, were placed in the Sunday Times on Sunday.

Under "minimum requirements", the ads say applicants must have "no record of a serious criminal offence".

However, Mkhwanazi said he was informed that this wording was carried over from an earlier, also erroneous, advert, and that the new ads had not been approved at a senior level.

He said "any sort" of criminal record would disqualify an applicant.

'Disgraceful'

Earlier on Monday, Democratic Alliance defence spokesperson Andries Botha said it was disgraceful that the defence force and the department, both of which were designed to uphold the law, should be willing to take on people with criminal records.

"It sets the wrong example and undermines the department's desperate need to build a better, more effective and accountable defence force," he said.

"There are millions of law-abiding unemployed citizens in South Africa whom the [department] should instead look to recruit."

He said he would ask Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota a parliamentary question to establish how many people currently employed by the defence force and department had criminal records.

Botha said he also wanted to know which specific crimes the department did not regard as "serious criminal offences".

- SAPA