The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans has concluded that the Cabinet decision to reduce government spending and impose budget cuts on all government departments was imposed by the National Treasury on the Department of Defence and Military Veterans in a way that has not taken into consideration the distinct nature of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). A cap has been imposed on SANDF expenditure for the “compensation of employees” (COE), which completely ignores the SANDF’s requirements and structure, it believes.

The committee says that the implementation of the COE cap in the SANDF is impossible. The consequence is that the SANDF has to engage in irregular expenditure, moving money, from the acquisition and maintenance of assets and the funding of operations, to COE.

“The committee is concerned about the arbitrariness of the decision, as it has started to impact negatively on the serviceability of the prime mission equipment, training and the general readiness of the defence,” affirmed committee chairperson Cyril Xaba. “It has a direct impact on the defence force’s ability to recruit annually for both [the] regular and reserve force. As a consequence, it restricts its rejuvenation efforts.”

The committee came to its conclusion after “robust engagements” with both the Department of Defence and Military Veterans and the National Treasury. Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise and Deputy Minister Thabang Makwetla both participated in the discussions. They both felt that the National Treasury’s directives had not only undermined the SANDF but also the country’s national security.

“The Committee welcomes prudent financial spending, but it should not result in a shrinking defence force, particularly considering South Africa’s increased population growth and the growing security threat posed by its porous borders and regional instability,” said the Committee in its statement.

For its part, the National Treasury suggested that the SANDF consider “optimising” its own spending. Thus, National Treasury proposed that the SANDF consider cutting the number of “costly” promotions parades, cutting the number of defence attaché offices assigned to South African diplomatic missions abroad (which currently number 44), and holding Armed Forces Day only every 24 months, instead of each year.

“The Committee recommended that there should be engagements between the National Treasury and the Department to find feasible ways of dealing with severe irregular expenditure and the unsustainability of the cap on COE. The Committee further requested that the Department and National Treasury must report back to the Committee on their engagements in the third quarter. The Committee further proposed that there be another meeting with the National Treasury to discuss the impact of budgetary constraints on prime mission equipment and budget requirements.”