Solid Gold Saturday

An upcoming public display by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in Cape Town has some Muizenberg residents concerned about safety.

Also read: SANDF has become a welfare service, columnist opines

The night-time event is a part of the Armed Forces Day celebrations and will see artillery firing live ammunition on Sunrise Beach in Muizenberg.

The SANDF display will feature everything from complete army tanks, to canon salvos and aircrafts flying over.

Residents have raised some safety concerns about the event, which will take place from Tuesday 19 February.

One of the chief coordinators of the event, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Kachelhoffer, says that SANDF has received all the necessary approval from the City of Cape Town council.

He explains that Armed Forces Day commemorates the sinking of the SS Mendi in the English Channel on February 21, 1917.

It's a great force preparation exercise for the trained soldiers and an opportunity for the public to see the defence force's capabilities, Kachelhoffer adds.

He maintains that SANDF soldiers will not fire any ammunition that will detonate below the water line or put marine life at risk.

We bring it to the people so they can see what SANDF is and how ready we are to defend the country.

— Lt Col Michael Kachelhoffer, Chief coordinator of night shoot and capability demonstrations - Armed Forces Day

We are going to have tanks and artillery on the beach. We intend to fire those weapon systems.

— Lt Col Michael Kachelhoffer, Chief coordinator of night shoot and capability demonstrations - Armed Forces Day

We went a long way to try and get all the necessary permissions and the buy-in from the local community.

— Lt Col Michael Kachelhoffer, Chief coordinator of night shoot and capability demonstrations - Armed Forces Day

Listen to the discussion on The John Maytham Show: