Pretoria - Defence and Military Veterans Minister Lindiwe Sisulu will this afternoon depart for Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for a final logistics briefing and sign off on the responsibilities allocated to South Africa for the elections to be held on Sunday.
The minister has already met with all the stakeholders, including the Independent Electoral Commission (SENI) and the head of the UN mission in the Congo, MONUSCO, to discuss the elections.
Sisulu said she was returning back to the DRC to make sure that "all that we promised has been done, and to thank all the soldiers deployed there for their sacrifices to ensure that the people of Congo have successful elections".
South Africa, under UN and as a country, has given all the support requested for this elections to be successful, she said.
"We have more than 1000 soldiers there, I have sent a team of senior Generals let by General Mugwebi, one of our best logistics general, who worked in Burundi and was also there in the DRC during the 2006 general elections, he is accompanied by the best," said the minister at the International Defence Review Seminar in Cape Town on Thursday.
The Chief of the SANDF, General Solly Shoke, deployed the Chief of Joint Operations, Lt General Derrick Mugwebi and a team of planners and logistics experts to work with the SENI in planning logistics to ensure that all ballot papers are delivered to the 210 hubs and to voting stations.
This was after a request by the commission for assistance with military planners, additional helicopters and other infrastructure to ensure that ballot papers are distributed to poll stations.
South Africa, Angola and the private sector in the DRC have since increased the number of helicopters and fixed wing planes to ensure that all ballot papers are delivered within the deadlines.
Ballot papers for the elections were printed in South Africa and have already been delivered to the 13 hubs and the 210 sub hubs by the SANDF.
Sisulu said the DRC elections were important for the country to move forward and strengthen democracy as well as begin a journey for improving the lives of their people.
"In my recent visit I met with the Electoral Commission (SENI), the Government and our Ambassador and they all agree that ordinary Congolese see this as an opportunity to move forward, to strengthen their democracy and to put away their history of violence and focus in building their society and economy," she said.
