South Africa’s National Defence Force (SANDF) is in a dire financial state, and with no promise of future funding, things may still get worse.<\/p>\n
Answering in a recent parliamentary Q&A session minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, said that current plans to get the SANDF back on track are entirely dependent on its funding.<\/p>\n
“The prevention of the SANDF capabilities from declining further is entirely dependent on the budget allocation of the Defence Force, which has been decreasing at an alarming rate over the years with a negative impact of the entire capabilities,” she said.<\/p>\n
“The Defence Review 2015 has been developed with a plan to arrest the decline of the SANDF but unfortunately no funding has been received to attend to the declining capabilities of the SANDF.”<\/p>\n
Mapisa-Nqakula added that the years-long decline of the SANDF meant that it was becoming increasingly difficult to protect the country.<\/p>\n
“The defence has become progressively unsustainable in terms of declining defence allocations and have reached a point where the republic must decide on the kind of Defence Force it wants and can afford,” she said.<\/p>\n
Growing trouble<\/strong><\/p>\n In a July briefing, Mapisa-Nqakula said that her department has been forced to continuously adjust its plans downwards in response to the declining budget in recent years.<\/p>\n One of the key issues that was raised during the committee meeting was the protection of South Africa\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n Specific concerns raised included:<\/p>\n Other issues identified include:<\/p>\n\n
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