The Chief of the South African Army, Lieutenant General Lawrence Khulekani Mbatha, has expressed outrage over the rampant job scams being posted online, purported to be employment opportunities for people as young as 15 to join the military.
Mbatha said the fake job alerts are deceitful efforts by faceless criminals seeking to bring the South African Army into disrepute.
“The recent use of various social media platforms targeting youths as young as 15 years is absolutely unethical, incorrect and should be condemned by all law-abiding citizens of our country,” said Mbatha.
“Neither the SA Army nor the SANDF engages in the employment of child soldiers. The Constitution of the country and the relevant legal prescripts governing employment do not allow for the recruitment of minors. It is therefore illegal and unethical to suggest that the SA Army is calling for minors to apply for employment.”
Unsuspecting job seekers and their families are lured into paying “application fees” by the scammers, who then vanish when the money is paid by the would-be soldiers.
“Scammers have resorted to luring desperate youths and their unsuspecting parents by offering stipends, free accommodation and free applications, a deviation from the now well-known modus operandi of asking for an application fee to make their advertisement look and sound legitimate,” said Mbatha.
