Army spends R500 000 on image campaign

"It is part of our ongoing awareness programme to inform people that the SANDF is there to serve them 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said SANDF spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Louis Kirstein of the newspaper campaign that came to an end this week.

To illustrate the theme of 24-hour long alertness one advert shows a soldier with rifle at ready and a clock in the foreground. The caption reads "because the world can change in a second". Another ad carries "amaSANDF promotes peace on our continent". Both ads end with the pay-off line "The Department of Defence -- safeguarding South Africa for a better life for all".

When asked about the need for such an expense, Kirstein said that the money was set aside months previously from the SANDF's communication budget specifically for a one-off campaign.