Motshekga admits austerity measures impacted SANDF capabilities
Motshekga laid bare the myriad problems of her department before Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Tuesday.
Defence minister Angie Motshekga before Parliament's Standing Committee on Accounts. Picture: Zwelethemba Kostile/Parliament
CAPE TOWN - Defence minister Angie Motshekga says austerity measures have put her department in the predicament of being poorly capacitated to deliver on its mandate.
Motshekga laid bare the myriad problems of her department before Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on Tuesday, after several weeks of backlash over the deaths of soldiers deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Besides overspending by R3 billion on its staffing budget in the last financial year, Motshekga said annual budget cuts mean that the department is struggling to service its equipment while arms manufacturer, Denel also fails to deliver.
SCOPA has been probing years of repeated qualified audit opinions for the defence department, prompted by the high irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure.
READ: Motshekga dismisses political parties' claims that SANDF is involved in DRC war effort
Motshekga said the department is in dire straits from its grounded equipment and high wage bill, to dysfunctional military hospitals and irregular tenders.
"Upfront I have to say, there have been major problems, not only in defence, but in government in terms of austerity measures. Defunding has affected us badly. It places us in a very difficult situation."
She's also told parliament that unfunded operations increase the pressure on an already strained budget.
READ: Defence Minister Angie Motshekga admits budget cuts impacting department's effectiveness
This includes the continued deployment of soldiers to the DRC as part of a joint United Nations and regional peacekeeping mission since December 2023.
"The decision to extend SAMIDRC [Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo] for instance, was taken in December. It's not part of our plan. It's not in our budget. It will only come in the next financial year.
Motshekga said following the recent cabinet Lekgotla, she's hopeful Wednesday's budget will deliver more for her department.