South Africa’s army is bleeding

The South African Defense Force (SANDF) is bleeding funds with irregular expenditure and poor management taking its toll on the defence budget.

According to the opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), a recent presentation from the National Treasury has painted a bleak picture of the state of affairs within the Defence Force.

The political party said that the national army is in the “ICU” in light of its financial constraints spurred on by irregular expenditure over the past five years.

One of the most notable points of contention for the party was the fact that the army spent R1.5 billion travelling both domestically and internationally.

“Treasury warned that unless steps are taken to cut back on travel costs, the army will struggle to stabilise its finance,” said the DA.

As a result of this, the DA heavily criticised the recent actions of Lieutenant-General Lawrence Mbatha’s foreign trip to Russia during the war in Ukraine.

The party said that Treasury further raised concern over a yearly Compensation of Employees (CEO) overspend of R2.9 billion on personnel costs not budgeted for, despite a drop in headcount within the army.

It added that state-owned arms suppliers and developers, Armscor and Denel, should be merged to save costs on corporate services.

“What Treasury revealed in its presentation is ill-discipline and lack of political management to bring about the much-needed turnaround. While the army fails to prioritise R2.5 billion for the essential midlife upgrades of Frigates (army ships), they are prepared to overspend on employee costs on a yearly basis,” said the DA.

The SANDF’s financial status has been a point of concern for years. In November last year, Cyril Xaba, the chair of the portfolio committee on defence and military veterans, said that funding in the SANDF remains a crisis which could spell disaster for the safety and security of the country.

Through mismanagement and budget cuts, the SANDF has been unable to upkeep critical army infrastructure and vehicles. A breakdown in overall administration has also led to certain assets going untracked, with authorities not knowing where certain movable assets or goods are located across the country.

All eyes on the SANDF

Recent allegations that South Africa supplied Russia with arms have put the country under international diplomatic scrutiny.

On 12 May, the US Ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, alleged that the armaments were collected by a Russian ship that docked at the Simon’s Town naval base in Cape Town in December last year.

Following the allegations, the rand tanked to its lowest point on record, and foreign investors turned away from the country. President Cyril Ramaphosa said that he had launched an inquiry into the claims.

Since the statement by the ambassador was made, South Africa and the US have ‘made up’; however, global scrutiny persists as the South African defence chief Mbatha visits Moscow.

The SANDF said on 15 May that the meeting with Putin was “planned well in advance” as part of “a long-standing arrangement” and was a “goodwill visit” at the invitation of the Russian army.

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South Africa’s army is bleeding