Relentless budget cuts over the last decade have hollowed out the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), according to Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa. He was speaking when giving background to events in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that left 13 soldiers dead in a week.
Experts have said the deaths of SANDF personnel in the DRC is in part because of a lack of prime mission equipment and logistics support. The SA Air Force has to rely on chartered aircraft to move personnel and equipment to the DRC as it does not have airworthy transport aircraft of its own, and soldiers in the central African nation do not have air support as no Rooivalk attack helicopters are available.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a cabinet lekgotla in Pretoria on Wednesday, Holomisa said that, “we must all remember that the signals that the SANDF is struggling have been issued in the last ten/fifteen years.”
He said the defunding of the national defence force has impeded its state of readiness. “We cannot guarantee that we are ready because you are aware that we are struggling to even maintain the aircraft like the helicopters which normally give cover, aerial cover, to our troops when they are under attack.”
With regard to funding, “we hope that the department of national treasury and cabinet will rearrange some of the priorities. Remember that the government of south Africa – especially the previous six administration – since 1998 they focussed more on social security as opposed to military security and as a result of that the defunding of the defence force began, but I’m happy that President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly said we are going to move away from .75% of the GDP to 1.7% of the GDP. That should help our defence force,” Holomisa said.
