SA death in Mozambican attack lays bare neglect of defence force
Underfunded SANDF cannot maintain the already inadequate capabilities set out in the 1998 defence review
If anyone heard fluttering and squawking in the past few days, that was chickens coming home to roost after two decades of underfunding defence. A predictable result is clearly visible: South Africans at risk in Mozambique, some killed, and precious little we can do, much as there was little we could do to help our troops in Bangui in 2013. In fact less, as SA has even fewer transport aircraft operational now.
This stems from government dereliction regarding defence. It has so grossly underfunded defence that the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) cannot even maintain the already inadequate capabilities set out in the 1998 defence review. The government has also reneged on key undertakings in the 1996 white paper on defence, which states that it will:..
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