Chairperson
Deputy Minister Kebby Maphatsoe;
Fellow Cabinet Colleagues;
Co-Chairperson and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence;
The Military Command Council;
The Defence Secretariat Council;
The executive management of Military Veterans;
Members of the Defence Force Service Commission;
Members of the Armscor Board and members of the defence industry;
The Military Ombud;
The Chairperson of the Castle Control Board;
Honourable Members
Yesterday, the 10th of May 2016, marked exactly 22 years since that sunny afternoon when the nation inaugurated Nelson Mandela as the first President of a free and democratic South Africa, and the first Commander in Chief of our South African National Defence Force.
On this occasion Nelson Mandela, reminded us of the past we were putting behind us never to return to, when he said:
“We enter a covenant that we shall build a society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.”
We come before this nation to outline a budget aimed at supporting our commitment to build the SANDF as a national asset and pride of the nation, capable of defending our democracy and its gains. To reaffirm that the SANDF will remain steadfast on this role and constitutional imperatives. We should all vigilantly guard against it being used to negate the gains we have all made in building a stable country that continues to deal with its various challenges under conditions of peace.
Honourable members,
I have on several occasions appealed to all members in this Parliament, to resist the dangerous temptation of playing politics with an important asset such as the SANDF, the last line of defence for our people and our hard earned peace and democracy. Nobody, both from within the ruling party and the opposition, should be allowed to even insinuate that this military can be used to pursue the political agendas of any party.
The entire leadership of the Defence Force, all its command structures and members, dedicated women and men in uniform, are committed to this effort of fostering stability and peace, not only here at home, but in the entire continent. The South African National Defence Force is non-partisan and remains loyal to the Constitution and the people of this country as prescribed in the Defence Act.
I would like to thank members both in uniform and civilian who have remained true to the values of the Department of Defence.
Honourable Members, in my budget vote speech last year I informed this House that the financial year 2015/16 would be devoted to planning the implementation of the Defence Review 2015.
I stated last year that I will focus on the following ministerial priorities whose implementation will be key to the realization of the targets of the first stage of
Milestone 1 of the Defence Review 2015. These priorities are:
As part of these planning imperatives, for the first phase of Milestone 1 “Arresting the Decline”, the 2016/17 Annual Performance Plan contains 12 outcomes that can be achieved within the current budget allocation.
These 12 outcomes will be supported by 24 deliverables.
These End-States in the 2016 Annual Performance Plan are as follows:
In assessing the current targets in the APP, parliament is urged to note that substantial progress has been made towards the completion of a costed comprehensive Milestone 1 plan to arrest the decline of SANDF capabilities.
The Defence Review 2015 maps out five strategic planning milestones directing a long-term Defence Development Plan that lays out the defence capability enhancements, inclusive of an aligned funding trajectory. I had directed last year that both the long term plan and the funding trajectory should be integrated into both the national and the departmental planning, budgeting and reporting cycles.
It is worth reminding ourselves of what the President of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Force, Jacob Zuma said in his State of the Nation Address in
June 2014:
“South Africa will continue to support regional and continental processes to respond to and resolve crises, promote peace and security, strengthen regional integration, significantly increase intra-African trade and champion sustainable development in Africa. This role will continue and government is looking into the resourcing of the SANDF mandate in line with the recently concluded Defence Review.”
There is no doubt that it is in our national interest to have a Defence Force capable of supporting national security imperatives, foreign policy objectives and the country’s economic interests.
In order to do this, the Defence Force should be sufficiently resourced and skilled to execute operations across the full spectrum of conflict. It must have the capacity to defend and safeguard the sovereignty of the Republic, keep and enforce peace outside its borders, and have an offensive capability to deter potential aggressors.
The Defence Force is a national asset we should invest in, in order to create and sustain peace and stability at home and in the continent as necessary conditions for human and economic development. As we begin the implementation of the Defence Review 2015 we must be mindful that an inadequately resourced Defence Force will have a negative impact on operational outputs including loss of life of troops.
The budget for the financial year FY2016/17 is R47 bllion which is approximately 1.05% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Our MTEF allocations indicate that for the FY17/18, our budget will decline to 1.03% of GDP and for FY18/19 a further decline to 0.98% of GDP. These figures indicate a consistent and persistent decline of the defence budget. Honourable members must take note that this will have serious implication on the defence function of the Republic of South Africa.
We have consistently indicated to this House that the defence allocation should be increasing towards at least 2% of GDP yet we see a consistent decline of budget allocation with an increase in operational commitments. The above shows that defence is consistently 50% underfunded with compounding effects on our ability to conduct operations.
A comparative analysis of our SADC partners further underscores how under-funded the SANDF is. Examples include: Zimbabwe 3% of GDP; Botswana 2.7%; Angola 5.7%; Namibia 3.1%; Swaziland 3.1%; and Lesotho 3%.
There is an urgent need for the adequate resourcing of the SANDF. Planning should take into account fiscal constraints facing government and the many competing demands made on an already strained national fiscus.
In this regard, I have directed both the department and Armscor to think creatively about a strategic investment plan to enable the Defence Force to execute its constitutional mandate, while at the same time having the capacity to deal with both conventional and asymmetric threats.
We have set a high level of ambition for the Defence Force. This imposes an obligation on us to ensure that it has the resources to execute tasks assigned to it with the high level of professionalism, efficiency and effectiveness that the country demands. The Department has taken initiatives on a funding model for the Defence Force.
A recent audit of DOD assets has indicated a total defence assets value of approximately four trillion rands. We are specifically engaging with the National Treasury on the method whereby a percentage of these assets can be leveraged, not only for the benefit of the DOD, but also in support of the national fiscus. We will be engaging with Parliament to support this very important initiative.
Additional sources for a future funding model include:
The Department has further begun to introduce efficiencies to ensure prudent allocation and spending in many areas of its work with a view to cut costs and improve effectiveness. Initiatives taken in this regard include:
Honourable Members
I am happy to report that since the previous debate, significant work has been done to lay the foundation for the incremental implementation of the Defence Review 2015. This work includes the following:
Honourable Members
It is a great attribute to the Defence Force that despite the constraints under which it operates, it still manages to execute assigned operations with commendable professionalism and success.
Honourable Chairperson and members, I wish to touch on a few matters related to one of my seven priorities as Minister, the personnel renewal of the DOD.
The SANDF requires a constant stream of young fit and healthy soldiers. The Defence Review 2015 further enjoins us to rejuvenate the personnel component of the SANDF.
To this end, we have the MSDS system which provides the mechanism to recruit young members for military service. However the R5.5 billion reduction in the Defence budget over the MTEF period, which mainly affects the following:
Over the last seven years the reduction in the defence force allocation in the operating and capital budgets, has adversely affecting training and operations. Other domains that are affected include, amongst others, the following:
The reduction in real terms of the defence budget allocation over the last few years has forced us to reduce the numbers of MSDS from 8 955 in 2012 to 3 863 in 2015. We will be forced to further reduce the MSDS intakes into the future. The abovementioned has far-reaching implications for the DOD and country, given the ever increasing demands being placed on the SANDF.
As Honourable members are aware advances in science and technology with the concomitant increase in the sophistication and complexity of military operations demand a highly educated and skilled Defence Force. The URTP system is designed to enable the Defence Force to recruit the brightest and best from our tertiary institutions into its ranks.
Since the inception of the programme in 2013, 275 university students completed their basic military training. They are now continuing with officer and functional training prior to their deployment with Reserve units. There is great demand among university students to join this programme but lack of funding has stunted its growth. This is regrettable as it denies the Defence Force the opportunity to recruit an array of critical skills into the Reserves and the Regulars.
Last year on this occasion I expressed a strong wish to have a Defence Force that reflects the demographics of our country. I stressed the importance of our commitment as a country to a non-racial and non-sexist defence force. In pursuit of this commitment, I directed the Chief of the SANDF and Service Chiefs to target the recruitment of those communities under-represented in the Defence Force.
Since that directive I am glad to report that a concerted effort was made to recruit under-represented communities for enlistment into the SANDF through the MSDS. One hundred and three (103) young white recruits are currently undergoing training as part of the 2016 MSDS intake.
This constitutes approximately 6% of the current intake, compared to 4% in the last intake. Nonetheless, this remains an area of concern and more work needs to be done.
I also reported to this House that a target of 30% female membership of the SANDF had been met. I disclosed that there were five female Major-Generals, 35 Brigadier-Generals and eight Defence Attaches. Progress continues to be made in the quest for gender equity in the Defence Force.
Statistics compiled in February this year show that 15% (64) of command positions are now filled by female soldiers, while 38% (20) of senior management positions are occupied by females. This remains work in progress.
In September 2015 I instructed that the Armscor Dockyard in Simon’s Town be run under a business model as recommended by the Defence Review 2015. The Naval Dockyard will be returned to the control of the Navy.
The establishment of the office was in response to the need for a speedy and fair resolution of the grievances of military members. During 15/16 the Military Ombud received 483 cases and has finalised 365 thereof. In order to empower the Mil Ombud, I have approved and promulgated the Military Ombud Complaints Regulations by publication in the Government Gazette of 16 November 2015.
On 03 March 2016 we launched the National Defence Industry Council (NDIC) which will work closely with government to develop and strengthen this sector. It is crucial that we look at the requirements of the SANDF and its acquisition plans to see where they can be met by local suppliers. This will also enable defence industry companies to plan ahead against the acquisition plans of the Defence Force. As government we also have an obligation to assist our defence industry penetrate export markets in Africa and beyond.
Since the appointment of the Armscor CEO and the Board, Armscor has developed a new strategy which focuses on the SANDF as its primary client. The Armscor strategy deals with the rapid acquisition of equipment in support of urgent operational requirements for the SANDF and is assisting the DOD Funding Model development to support the implementation of the Defence Review 2015. The ARMSCOR will be hosting the biennial African Aerospace and Defence (AAD) exhibition that will be held in Pretoria in September 2016. There has been significant interest in the AAD 2016, with an estimated 450 exhibitors expected to participate in this segment of the AAD.
This year the Castle of Good Hope marks 350 years of its existence. The Deputy Minister will elaborate further on this matter.
The DFSC exists to provide the Minister on an annual basis recommendations on improvements of salaries, service benefits and policies on conditions of service of members of the SANDF. During the last financial year, the DFSC interacted with approximately 25 000 members across Services and Divisions throughout the country.
The DFSC is planning a conference at the end of this year to celebrate the 22 years of existence of the SANDF.
As a contribution to the national developmental goals of government, the SANDF will contribute on an ongoing basis to the development of the maritime economy -Operation Phakisa. The SA Navy, in support of ocean’s governance, is deploying its assets to protect the Republic’s territorial waters and its maritime resources.
Naval Station Durban is being upgraded to a fully-fledged naval base to support Operation Phakisa. Phakisa further provides an opportunity for the local production of naval assets such as patrol boats that are required to protect our territorial waters and maritime resources.
During the Budget Vote last year I indicated that I will be deploying a team to help address the strategic and operational problems and to implement a turn-around strategy to stabilize and capacitate the DMV to deliver services to military veterans.
This was as a result of the need to reverse the declining and at times non-existent levels of service delivery, accountability and good governance within the department.
As per our undertaking last year, a Turnaround team with a steering committee and a full time Project Management Office was established and integrated into the Department. The team is also supported by a team of resource panel drawn from various military veterans based on their expertise.
The team is currently structured in work streams as per mandate on the Terms of Reference, to cover the following critical areas:
The Team presented a comprehensive report on their findings, recommendations and on some of the key interventions to both the Deputy Minister and myself.
One of the key interventions that we have now made in stabilizing the department is at leadership level where there were many vacancies at Management level.
Since then we have managed to appoint two additional DDGs to oversee core business, the CFO position is now filled and the process is underway to fill the position of the Director General. The stabilisation of the Executive Management will give impetus to the Turnaround and assist in unlocking current systemic blockages in the delivery of services and benefits. Since the last budget vote, the statutory structures of military veterans have been established and are fully operational, namely: the Military Veteran’s Appeal Board and the Military Veteran’s Advisory Council.
A specific area of concern is the integrity of the Military Veteran’s Database. Furthermore, we must reflect on the appropriateness of outsourcing the delivery of benefits to military veterans. The Deputy Minister will elaborate further on these matters.
I am pleased to report that in March this year, we made a significant stride towards the empowerment of women military veterans. As part of our on-going celebrations for International Women’s Day, the Women Military Veterans Association of South Africa (WOMVASA) was formed, comprising of women from both statutory and non-statutory forces. This initiative should not be viewed as creating parallel structures within the military veteran’s fraternity, but rather to enhance the work of women in these structures.
As a woman I know that women military veterans have very unique challenges stemming from own experiences while serving in the military.
WOMVASA’s main objectives is amongst others to ensure the economic empowerment of women military veterans; enhancing easy access to MV’s benefits; to pursue women’s emancipation in an organised and systematic manner; to unite women military veterans as well as ensure continuous exchange of experiences amongst women military veterans with a view to contributing meaningfully to social cohesion and nation building.
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