The Minister of Defence and Veterans of Military Affairs, Angie Motshega, warned that her department is facing a projected budget overrun of 3.3 billion rands for employee compensation. She emphasized that the funding deficit is one of the most serious threats to the department and could put it at risk of collapse.
Motshega made these statements during oral questions from parliamentarians in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Wednesday regarding the department's planned expenditure on employee payments. She reported that in the previous fiscal year, the department had already exceeded its budget by approximately 3 billion rands, and without intervention, the overspending is expected to reach 4 billion rands in 2027/28 and 4.6 billion rands in 2028/29.
The department has developed measures to reduce costs, including encouraging employees eligible for retirement to take early leave and offering incentives for resignation. However, Motshega noted that these steps will not solve the core problem, which she attributes to years of underfunding.
Years of underfunding
Motshega stated that the department has repeatedly raised the issue of insufficient funding with the Treasury, the Cabinet, and Parliament. She clarified that reducing staff numbers will not necessarily solve the problem, as the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) still requires young personnel to maintain its capabilities. "We are not recruiting people at the rate we would like," she said.
Currently, the department hires about 5000 people every two years, which is insufficient to meet the needs of the defence forces. Therefore, the department is considering a comprehensive set of measures, including recruitment limits and encouraging employees to retire at appropriate times. Nevertheless, the final decision depends on whether Parliament and the Cabinet allocate sufficient funds to the Department of Defence. "We do not allocate our own money. We live off what we receive."
Responding to the question of whether senior officials and generals contributed to the financial problems, Motshega stated that she was unaware of inflated salaries among generals. "What has caught my attention, and what I witness, is that the resources allocated to the defence forces do not match what they are supposed to do."
She pointed to the state of the SANDF's equipment and infrastructure, noting that aircraft are non-operational, ships are damaged, and infrastructure is deteriorating. "This has nothing to do with the generals. It is related to underfunding."
Motshega stressed that the consequences of underfunding are visible throughout the defence force, and the department cannot fulfill its duties without adequate resources. The department has raised this issue before the government and Parliament, and the funding gap cannot simply be closed through cost-cutting measures. She also noted the need to balance cost containment efforts with the necessity of continuing to recruit youth to ensure the sustainability of the defence forces, expressing hope for support for these efforts from Parliament and the NCOP to address capability gaps in the defence forces.