Pretoria – There is an urgent need to rejuvenate and expand the human resource component of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), says Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
Briefing media on the findings and recommendations of the long-awaited Defence Review on Wednesday, the minister said the report noted that there was also an urgent need to comprehensively capacitate and equip the SANDF, and fund its operational deployments.
She said the decisions by government over the years to prioritise the socio-economic needs of the country have impacted on some of the SANDF’s crucial capabilities.
Commitments made in the past 16 years, she said, have resulted in a mismatch between what is expected from the Defence Force and resources allocated to it.
This is a crucial point highlighted in the current Defence Review Committee’s report.
“The report notes that the longer the current state of affairs is perpetuated, the greater the effort and cost will be, to reverse the decline and restore the capabilities required to safeguard South Africa’s borders, protect its maritime trade routes, defend the country against aggression and conduct peace missions,” the minister said.
The Defence Review states that: “The defence budget must meet the financial requirements that arise from the roles and mission sets assigned by government to the Defence Force”.
From this observation, the minister said, it is clear that this mismatch has caused over-stretch and a decline in most aspects of the Defence Force’s work.
These and other shortcomings must be addressed to prevent the steady decline of the SANDF and the potentially disastrous consequences that could follow.
The minister said she is confident that government will assist with funding to ensure that her department’s Defence Review report becomes a reality.
“As we look forward to the next twenty years, we must take all measures to ensure that the defence force is not handicapped in any way in the execution of its constitutional mandate,” she said.
The Review provides a long-term defence policy and defence strategic direction to be followed by the country over the next four Medium Term Strategic Framework periods.
Its objective is to create a balanced, flexible and modern force that uses advanced technology in response to the changing nature of the defence function globally.
Minister Mapisa-Nqcakula explained that the review was conducted in order to assist government to assess the state of its defence organisation to ensure an organisation capable of its mandate.
“The Defence Review is a government process of honest introspection about our ability to execute the Defence mandate as directed by our Constitution.
“We are certain that the current report of the Defence Review constitute a solid foundation on which we can start to address to long term challenges facing our Defence Force,” she said.
In March, Cabinet approved the South African Defence Force Review 2014, and directed for it to be tabled in Parliament. – SAnews.gov.za
