Minister of Defence Thandi Modise. File Picture: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency (ANA)
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Thandi Modise says the budget cuts in her department posed a serious threat to the sustainability of the defence force.
Modise said reviving the army would require a comprehensive approach.
But at the moment the situation was untenable as they face budget cuts every year.
The National Treasury has been reducing the allocation of the department of defence and other departments over the last few years.
Modise’s predecessors, including Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, now Speaker, have been complaining about the budget cuts when they table their budget votes in parliament.
Modise, who was replying to a written parliamentary question from EFF MP Tseko Mafanya, said Cabinet has promised to increase funds for the defence force, but this has not happened.
“I am on record as having said that the defence force is becoming progressively more unsustainable in terms of the declining baseline allocation and we have now reached the point where the Republic must decide on the kind of defence force it wants and what it can afford.
“It is within the context of a constrained fiscal environment, that a review and analysis of the National Defence Policy on defence, the South African Defence Review 2015, will be required by March 31, 2024, to provide a realistic and sustainable future-orientated defence value-proposition, cognisant of current fiscal realities, that delivers against the constitutional mandate of defence, South Africa’s national interests and government’s priorities and risk-appetite,” said Modise.
She added that after her budget vote speech in May, she promulgated a ministerial directive to her department and arms manufacturing company Armscor “that provides concrete strategic direction to the defence function for multiple medium term strategic frameworks on the development of the revised level defence ambition”.
She said she would like to get the army to be at the level that is required, but this will take a lot of work, with various stakeholders involved.
She will be working closely with the joint standing committee on defence and the portfolio committee on defence in parliament on these matters.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics