The army is spending R23 million on the deployment of 1 320 soldiers to the Cape Flats.
But questions have now been raised on how the embattled SANDF can afford this.
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, last week sounded the alarm on the defence force’s ability to safeguard the country’s porous borders amid severe budget cuts.
But as the army supports the SAPS in stabilising gang-affected areas, analysts warn these budgetary constraints would put the security of the country, as well as peace-keeping missions on the continent, in jeopardy, reports the Weekend Argus.
Mapisa-Nqakula delivered her Budget speech at the National Assembly last Wednesday, where her department was allocated R50.51 billion.
But she said over the past five years, her budget has been cut by around R22bn.
“The defence force is becoming progressively more unsustainable... we have reached the point where the Republic must decide on the kind of defence force it wants and can afford,” she said.
“Defence can only perform to the extent that it is resourced and funded.”
Mapisa-Nqakula said that last year she reported a medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) baseline reduction of R18.2bn.
Military analyst Helmoed-Römer Heitman said the army gets just enough money to maintain the border, with no funds to maintain or buy new equipment.
“For example, we do not have an effective maritime patrol aircraft; we are using a 1943 vintage Dakota.
“Pilots don’t fly enough, don’t get to sea enough, the army doesn’t train enough and that disconnect has been running since the late 1990s.”
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