Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has bemoaned the continued decline in the funding allocation for her department, saying this meant the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was at risk of losing more of its essential capabilities besides those already lost. Experts have warned that cuts in the defence budget would be disastrous for the SANDF, SA’s peacekeeping efforts and the implementation of the defence review. The review found that the SANDF was in a state of severe decline and this needed to be tackled urgently. Peacekeeping is a pillar of SA’s foreign policy, with the country’s army playing a key role in stabilising the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Delivering her budget vote speech in Parliament on Thursday, Mapisa-Nqakula said the defence allocation had been declining in real terms over the past 20 years by 5% a year to a mere 1% of GDP. She said the appropriate funding level, as articulated in the defence review, would require a steady state increase ...
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