Chairperson, Deputy Minister Thabang Makwetla, fellow Cabinet colleagues, chairpersons of committees, hon members, Secretary of Defence, Chief of the SA National Defence Force, the Military Command, our soldiers watching from the bases and our honoured guests, good afternoon.
We welcome the opportunity to introduce the first Budget Vote debate since my appointment as Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. We dedicate this occasion of our Budget Vote debate to the women and men, members of our armed forces, who lost their lives in the service of our country during the previous year. May their souls rest in peace, while the memory of their love for their country should never be lost to us.
The Budget Vote debate of the department takes place against the backdrop of this ongoing public discourse on various matters within the defence and security environment. Whatever the differences in public opinion on these matters, the discourse has created a rare opportunity for our country, the Ministry and the SA National Defence Force to pay urgent attention to some of the weaknesses that gave rise to such challenges.
I must say, however, that given the rapid nature of developments in our environment in the past two months, the country, including all of us here, has had very little time to convey due appreciation for the sterling work done on a daily basis by members of the SA National Defence Force to ensure the security and sovereignty of our country. [Applause.]
Despite the recent incidences that are in the public domain, our men and women in uniform continue to display selfless and loyal determination in executing their various tasks in the service of this great nation. While some of us have resigned ourselves to the despondence and gloom of the moment, the continued selfless dedication and sacrifice of our soldiers should be celebrated. On an occasion such as this, we should not miss the opportunity to let them know the extent of our indebtedness to them.
The Department of Defence and Military Veterans is a unique organisation populated by a special calibre of South Africans, soldiers and civilians alike, who have elected to put their lives on the line so that we and future generations can live in conditions of peace. Each one of them is an everyday hero. The country should not be ashamed to associate itself with them and show pride in their heroism, even during times of challenges and despondency. [Applause.]
Ms Susette Gates sits in the public gallery - and I would like her to stand - as our invited guest. [Applause.] She herself is not a soldier, but a civilian who works in our financial management division. She is in her mid- 40s, a white South African, and was deployed as the financial officer of our mission to the Central African Republic, CAR.
When she and the other contingent of civilians became aware of the imminent attack by the rebels, they vacated their accommodation and were relocated to a safer place. During this rush, she had to leave behind the cash contingency supporting the mission, amounting to millions of rands. She knew that, should the money be discovered, it would fall into the wrong hands and be used to fund rebel activity. At the height of the battle she returned to the base to fetch the money and accounting documents at great risk to her life. [Applause.]
She was confronted by the rebels who wanted to take the bags in which she had hid the money. She managed to convince them that she was carrying clothes and hitchhiked with French troops to the airport. She brought back into South Africa the total amount of R3 million in foreign currency. [Applause.]
HON MEMBERS: Malibongwe! [Praise!]
Another of her colleagues, Corporal Nkoana, that tiny little girl there, showed bravery that goes beyond the call of duty in Bangui. During the heat of the battle, she volunteered to go out and assist with casualties sustained in the field. Whilst returning to the base the convoy was ambushed by Seleka rebels. Without vehicles and maps to guide them to base, 16 members were cut off from their company and realised that their hiding place was surrounded by rebels. They were behind enemy lines.
Corporal Nkoana, a medic, took the lead and decided on the best way out of a potential ambush situation. [Applause.] For two long days and nights, they moved under her command and guidance, carrying casualties of war. She kept the commanders informed of their position and situation at all times. Her actions saved all 16 of our soldiers, including 2 who were shot. [Applause.]
She has earned the nickname of "human navigator" for her role in guiding her colleagues during the escape. Ms Gates and Corporal Nkoana represent all the finest qualities of the new SA National Defence Force; they are heroines and true patriots ... [Applause.] ... who displayed loyalty to their country and fellow servicemen and women, three of whom are also in this House with us today.
The challenges that we have debated in public and in this House regarding our defence and security environment have brought forth many lessons and pointed to key interventions that need to be made. In particular, these challenges were starkly exposed following our mission to Bangui, the accidents in our aviation environment and the recent unauthorised use of the Waterkloof Airforce Base for private purposes.
In the aftermath of these events, the department has had to conduct deep introspection and review, the result of which will have serious implications for the work and organisation of our armed forces, particularly during this financial year. The finalisation of the Defence Review has already taken into account some of the weaknesses in our design, tactical planning, legislation and operational requirements that led to these challenges.
The Chief of the SA National Defence Force and the Military Command Council have also conducted an assessment of some of these weaknesses and determined the interventions that need to be made in the immediate, short- term and long-term planning. The lessons drawn, in particular in relation to the CAR, are already assisting us in the planning, force preparation and deployment to current and future operations.
Following the report of the directors-general on the investigation of the use of the Waterkloof Air Force Base for private purposes, the SA National Defence Force is conducting a review aimed at strengthening weaknesses identified in command and control, policy and delegation, as well as the standard operating procedure governing the use of and access to all our facilities.
Although the public has and will continue to have access to various of our facilities, including military bases, this needs to be regulated in accordance with the required level of sensitivity and security. The Department of Defence and Military Veterans and the SA National Defence Force will continue to do their work in pursuance of constitutionally mandated obligations.
Given the current gaps that exist in relation to funding, structures, human resources and capability, the SA National Defence Force is developing a fully integrated approach to the defence of the Republic of South Africa, our international obligations and its ordered tasks. This process, informed and aligned to the current defence review process, involves a zero-based approach to the needs of the SA National Defence Force against its current resourcing gaps. South Africa's national interest is always central to the fulfilment of the defence mandate.
Our continent has enough resources that can be shared for common prosperity, security and human development. The biggest threat to the ability of the continent to harness this potential is instability, poor governance and war. The situation of war has made it possible for our resources to be plundered for the benefit of other economies outside the continent.
The continued plundering of these resources is a direct threat to our future food security and survival. It is for this reason that we will continue our engagements in support of peace and stability on the continent. South Africa has consistently adhered to its pledges to Monusco, the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the deployment of its various capabilities in support of the mission in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
We have also pledged to contribute a battalion to the envisaged intervention force that is being established. As part of our support to the region's maritime security, we have also renewed our mandate for Operation Copper in the Mozambican Channel to deter piracy activities, and to ensure the security of our exclusive economic zone. These operations will continue in this financial year with an amount of R585 million allocated for the SADC Maritime Security Strategy.
The Defence Review has been completed and submitted for Cabinet's approval. Although I do not wish to pre-empt the final outcome of the Defence Review report after its consideration by Cabinet, I need to indicate that we are preparing to align our planning activities to accommodate the implementation of its recommendations. This may require that some reprioritisation and adjustment be made to both our plans and financial projections for this year.
We need more frequent reviews to respond to the pace of technological advances within the military sphere and ever-changing geopolitical environments going forward. I wish to thank members of the Defence Review Committee, who were ably led by its chairman, Roelf Meyer, for their sterling work. [Applause.]
An important part of ensuring the sustainability of the SA National Defence Force and its capabilities is the need for us to take care of the Defence Force's most important asset, our soldiers. Key in this effort is the need to ensure that the conditions of service of our soldiers are improved in recognition of the special nature of the service they provide. In this regard, I am pleased to announce that the remuneration structure of the members of the permanent Defence Force Service Commission has been finalised and submitted to Cabinet. Once approved, the appointment of permanent members can proceed on 15 June 2013. [Applause.]
I would like to thank the members of the interim commission, some of whom are Members of Parliament, for their service over the past four years. This interim commission was led by Bishop Mpumlwana. I thank you, Your Worship. [Applause.] Given the strategic impact of the Defence Force on national security, it has become important that an effective grievance procedure that enjoys the confidence of soldiers is developed and implemented.
In May 2012 the first Military Ombudsman was appointed to establish a mechanism to investigate and resolve complaints of members. I recently instructed the Military Ombudsman, in terms of the Act, to conduct an investigation into the allegations of abuse and assault of recruits at the Oudtshoorn Infantry School. I have since received the initial report and directed the Chief of the SA National Defence Force to implement its recommendations.
I want to emphasise that the pursuit of a well-balanced and disciplined force is absolutely essential for the success of the Defence Force. The military is expected to develop capable leaders with a high level of discipline and sense of duty. The Defence Force actively recruits young people through the Military Skills Development System and the University Reserve Training Programme. We seek to increase partnerships with tertiary institutions to train Defence Force members and to recruit talented students, especially in technical fields. Recently we have concluded a training contract for our members with the Russian Federation as part of our efforts to expand our international training partnership. This will cover some of the essential skills, particularly the training of our pilots.
After consultation with the Department of Public Works, the department has now established a Works Formation responsible for the execution of planned departmental maintenance projects. The SA National Defence Force has so far deployed its members in four provinces as part of its border security operations. The deployment along the border has contributed significantly to government's efforts to combat crime.
I am concerned, though, that despite expressed commitment to improving the landward defence capability, and despite funds being allocated in the past, very little progress has been made. This year we have ensured that decisions on key projects are finalised and we are currently at contracting stages for the acquisition of various landward defence capabilities.
Members must remember that just before the dawn of democracy many of our capabilities were sold off into private hands, resulting in some of the capability gaps we have today. The current government has inherited the responsibility to correct this gap, while those responsible for it shout from the sidelines. We are confident, however, that during this financial year the process of the consolidation of the needs of the services, as led by the Chief of the SA National Defence Force, will address the sustainability of our capability.
In November 2011 Cabinet approved the acquisition of the VVIP aircraft. We have since consulted with National Treasury and funding has now been approved for the acquisition of this capability in this financial year. The Defence budget for the 2013-14 financial year amounts to R40 243 billion. This is equal to 1,1% of the gross domestic product, GDP, and 3,8% of the total government expenditure.
The support for a viable and competitive defence industry is an integral part of our mandate. It is a matter of concern that over the years South Africa has gradually been losing its influential position as one of the industry leaders in defence innovation. It is for this reason that the department must play a direct role in the restructuring of the defence industry to ensure that it focuses primarily on the requirements of the SA National Defence Force.
We will continue to give attention to government's commitment to improving the lives of our military veterans. As part of this, I have decided to appoint an intervention support team to assist the Department of Military Veterans in creating the systems required to effectively roll out the socioeconomic benefits for our veterans. These systems are urgently required given the fact that an amount of R300 million has been provided for socioeconomic benefits in this financial year. The Deputy Minister will elaborate further on matters affecting military veterans.
Let me assure hon members and fellow South Africans that, despite the challenges of the moment, we will never allow our defence capabilities so essential to the protection of our country to be eroded. In order to achieve this we need the support of all South Africans, including those sitting in this House. We do so informed by the conviction, which we all share, that the Defence Force is our national asset and should be protected. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and the team, hon Deputy Minister, hon Members of Parliament, guests in the gallery, including our two heroines whom the Minister has just introduced, after considering the challenges facing the department, observations during the portfolio committee oversight visit and on the presentation by the department of the Strategic and Annual Performance Plan, the ANC support this Budget Vote for the following reasons.
The Preamble to the Constitution enjoins us to, inter alia, recognise the injustices of the past, honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land and hold fast the undying conviction that South Africa is owned by its people. Furthermore, the Constitution charges its subjects to heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights. Lastly, the imperative is to build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.
The defence of the people of the Republic of South Africa, and the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty should be understood within the broad context, which includes national security. In the narrow sense, national security refers to military defence against foreign aggression. While that is a key component of national security, it is surely not the only one nor is it a point that warrants exclusive focus, no matter how fundamental its nature. The narrow approach is, however, limited by its exclusive focus on a realist approach that pays scant attention to historical, socioeconomic and regional dynamics in a fluid environment. Followed to its end, this approach leads to national security being viewed as the ability of a state to protect its internal values from external threats.
On the other hand, the broad approach to national security focuses on a diverse array of global threats, extending the concept to cover every potentially destabilising trend from economics to social dynamics, health and the environment, thereby securitising issues that ought not to be securitised. Our approach remains an integrated one that combines the conventional with the unconventional. That is why we are concerned by the observation made by the National Development Plan, NDP, that: "South Africa remains a highly unequal society where many people live in poverty and too few work".
It has been our observation that many of those who suffered for justice and freedom remain beyond the reach of social justice. We are of the firm conviction that honouring those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land cannot only happen through words of appreciation, but should also happen through ensuring that the requisite benefits do accrue to them as a token of collective appreciation. The ANC has always espoused human rights values and has always considered itself inalienable to matters affecting the continent. Indeed, the Freedom Charter adopted in 1955 by progressive South African formations calls for a better South Africa in a better Africa and a better world.
Our approach therefore is that of not only ensuring that our people enjoy the freedoms that come with upholding the democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights, but that other nations of the world in general and of Africa in particular enjoy the same rights and freedoms. It is in this context, among others of similar importance, that we understand the constitutional imperative to build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.
Let me without further ado convey appreciation for the fact that, according to the department's budget prioritisation during 2013-14, two more subunits will be deployed along the border, bringing the total number of subunits deployed to 13. This function has to be understood within two contexts: Firstly, it is a fundamental function that is inalienable from the protection of South Africa's territorial integrity and sovereignty; secondly, it is a relatively new mandate that invariably introduces new pressure on resources.
The borders of our country are the physical manifestation of our national sovereignty. The control and management of the border environment remains one of our country's biggest security challenges due to the sheer length of South Africa's borderline and the large volumes of people and goods moving through our ports of entry. These challenges produce various security vulnerabilities in the border environment, which are exploited by illegal migrants who attempt to enter the country, and cross-border criminals involved in activities such as drug trafficking, arms proliferation, vehicle smuggling, smuggling of precious metals, stones, ivory and endangered species and the illegal importing of cigarettes, clothing, alcoholic beverages, medicine and other contraband.
These illegal activities are exacerbated by the presence of corrupt border officials at South Africa's ports of entry who exploit the weaknesses of entry systems when they collude with criminal elements to traffic or smuggle people, illicit goods and vehicles into the country. Even though the phased redeployment of the South African National Defence Force to the borderline has yielded positive results, cross-border crime syndicates have moved their criminal activities to areas of the borderline where the SANDF has not yet been deployed. Furthermore, a number of border fences are not maintained and are in a state of disrepair, exposing our country to the threat of animal diseases from neighbouring countries.
It behoves us to make sure that our airspace remains safe in terms of radar coverage to detect any entry and landing of light aircraft at unregistered and informal landing strips. These aircraft, which are able to fly below radar, are used for various criminal activities such as the smuggling of people, goods and firearms. The flow of undocumented persons and illicit goods across our maritime borders also pose a national security threat, and is made possible by the lack of effective patrolling of the maritime borderline, abuses of established business processes, ineffective physical security at maritime ports of entry, and the nonadherence to prescribed legislation and codes.
The illegal exploitation of South Africa's natural resources, specifically the poaching of abalone and illegal fishing by foreign fishing vessels, continues. The threat of piracy, which emanates from the instability at the horn of Africa, as well as the threat of maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea, further complicates the security of our maritime borderline. Having made the case for ensuring border security and having drawn the causal link and legitimate connection between the border management function and the economy as well as crime prevention, I now turn to the exigencies of the function. It is true that this function was within the purview of the police for a significant period of time during our democratic dispensation, and for reasons akin to the ones I just mentioned to you, the function was duly transferred to the Department of Defence and Military Veterans, where it currently resorts.
Others might from a narrow context position argue that resourcing defence competency should follow after other competencies due to the fact that there is no evident imminent threat to South Africa's territorial integrity and sovereignty. However, we are not oblivious to the fact that resourcing must be informed by an overarching defense strategy in terms of force design and other exigencies. It is in that spirit that our government started the process of a defence review, which is currently under way. We therefore make a call to the department to facilitate expediting the process of the defence review so as to bring certainty in relation to our defence strategy and the resources to implement such strategy.
The substantial increase in acts of piracy along the African coastline is of great concern as it threatens the peace, security and stability of the continent. Although the current piracy hotspots are off the east and west coast of Africa, for instance in the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Guinea, pirates have extended their activities to over 1 100 km offshore and have moved into the waters of the Seychelles and Tanzania, even reaching the Indian coast.
Somali pirates have operated as far south as the Mozambique Channel and as far as 72 degrees east, towards the Maldives. As a direct consequence of piracy along the east coast of Africa, a growing number of shipping companies have had to route their ships via the Cape Sea Route instead of using the Suez Canal. Due to these dynamics, together with requests from foreign governments and multilateral organisations, we have been compelled to provide a response to such security threats. It is therefore critical that defence plays a key role to help combat piracy, especially since recent incidents have occurred along the Southern African Development Community coastline.
South Africa has an exclusive economic zone of 1 553 000 km, of which the areas around the Marion and Prince Edward Islands comprise 474 400 km. The Atlantic Ocean borders the west coast. The Indian Ocean borders the east coast and the Southern Ocean surrounds the Marion and Prince Edward Islands. South Africa has tabled its claim to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea for the extension of its area of the continental shelf. This therefore means that South Africa will have to exercise control and enforce state authority over 4 340 000 km of maritime territory.
This must also be understood in the context of South Africa being in effect an island economy directly dependent on seaborne trade for 50% of its gross domestic product and substantially more if one considers that 75% of the oil on which activity depends comes by sea from the Middle East. South Africa also has an important fishing industry and has the potential for growing the offshore hydrocarbon sector.
Our quest, as the ANC, is to ensure that all people in the south are protected and are free from fear and want. Piracy is linked to economic interest as international trading in the form of imports and exports is significantly seaborne. Therefore, there is a legitimate causal connection between combating piracy and rendering Africa in general and the SADC region in particular economically viable and economically stable. It is therefore critical in the fight against fear and want that the Defence Review and its subsequent resourcing focus on a sustainable antipiracy strategy. Indeed, the NDP's vision of a more equitable and prosperous society will be enhanced and prospects of its realisation shored up by combatting piracy through an appropriately resourced navy.
The landward defence function has the mandate to protect South Africa and its territory by, amongst others, providing an infantry capability for external deployment and a reaction force for internal safety and security, including border safeguarding. It is also charged with providing signal capability for external deployment and internal signal support, and exercising a composite signal capacity per year.
In the same vein that a call is made for the speedy conclusion of the Defence Review, we call for the same and for the resourcing of this function in order to ensure that the South African territory and its people feel free and safe. Our call for the speedy conclusion of the Defence Review process does not issue from any dissatisfaction about the commission's work. On the contrary, we recognise the mammoth task undertaken by the commission and we stand in full support of the commission.
In conclusion, let me underscore the point that the Defence Review is our blueprint for a transformed and resourced Defence Force. The Defence Force has the function to secure national interest and national security. It is therefore key that resource allocation should be seen in the light of ensuring peaceful existence in the country, on the continent and in the world.
The ANC therefore once again supports the budget of the department as it continues to undertake the task of ensuring territorial integrity and protecting the sovereignty of our beloved country. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon members, I want to request that members of the public in the gallery who have not been given permission to take photographs please refrain from doing so.
Hon Chairperson, some months ago, after completing a Cabinet-level performance assessment, the President decided to push "eject". With a push of the button, former Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu was catapulted from her ultra-luxury Gulfstream jet, came tumbling down 35 000 feet and landed in a dump called the Department of Public Service and Administration, DPSA.
Since then, the Minister has been spotted on British Airways, picking at her Woolworths meals, probably desperately missing her favourite Gulfstream jet. However, truth be told, the Minister is settling in rather well in her new role of monitoring tardiness and name-dropping within the not-so- capable state. [Laughter.]
Of course, the same cannot be said for the new Minister of Defence, who seems to be stumbling from one scandal to another. First, we had Boeing- gate; then CARgate; and now we have Guptagate. The Minister must realise that at this rate she is in danger of being rechristened "Ministergate". [Interjections.]
Unsurprisingly, there are rumours in the corridors of power that the President is losing patience with the Minister and that his finger is once again hovering above the eject button. [Interjections.] One suspects that if there is one more defence scandal, the President will push the eject button and catapult the Minister all the way back to Correctional Services, where she can do less damage.
Yesterday we debated Guptagate without the benefit of a copy of the final report of the investigation. The report was deliberately and cynically withheld in order to disarm members of the Opposition in Parliament. Frankly, the report makes for scary reading. The President is, evidently, not in control of his Ministers and his Ministers are, evidently, not in control of their officials. When the President says jump, Ministers, evidently, do not listen.
We were told that the Minister turned down a request from the Gupta family to use the Waterkloof Air Force Base. That now appears not to be true. It was the Minister's senior adviser, who had been contacted separately by a different person who, in fact, turned down the request.
The Minister seems, at least for a period, to have seriously considered the request. The Minister knew the Guptas had their eyes on Waterkloof Air Force Base. Had she issued clear instructions to the Defence department, the aircraft would never have landed at the Waterkloof Air Force Base and there would have been no Guptagate scandal. The Minister was clearly negligent. We therefore hope that one day soon the Public Protector will be knocking on the Minister's door to begin an independent investigation into Guptagate. The Chief of the SA National Defence Force, General Solly Shoke, has not been given an opportunity to brief the Joint Standing Committee on Defence on the combat readiness of the Defence Force. We therefore know very little about the state of the Defence Force. However, everything we do know suggests that the Defence Force is in very deep trouble.
This was nowhere better illustrated than by the tragedy in the Central African Republic, CAR. The Defence Force Commander, Colonel William Dixon, is justifiably proud of our soldiers, because they fought well when the fighting began. [Applause.] They survived, according to the terrible logic of battle: kill or be killed. However, the fact is that our soldiers were left dangling, with both hands tied behind their backs in a deadly firefight, which cost 14 young men from the elite One Parachute Battalion their lives.
That was shameful!
The SA Defence Force, SANDF, was somehow drawn into a battle they could not supply. The limits of the SANDF's capabilities were on display for everyone to see in the CAR.
We know that the Defence department tends to reduce its problems to a single cause - a shrinking Defence budget. So, it is appropriate that we are here today to debate the R40 billion appropriation for the Department of Defence and Military Veterans for the 2013-14 financial year. The Defence budget will be marginally increased over the next three years from R40 billion to R45 billion. This contrasts with global trends where Finance Ministers, when it comes to defence spending, are not bothering with haircuts, but are wielding meat axes and slashing Defence budgets.
Desperate to increase revenue, the Italian navy, for example, has gone into business, hired a brand manager and launched a new energy drink called Forza Blu. Things are bad, but at least they are not that bad.
The Defence department also tends to reduce the solutions to all its problems to an increase in the Defence budget. The department legitimately argues that the Defence budget has been reduced to levels where the Defence Force's ability to effectively conduct military operations is being compromised. The truth is that the Defence Force's operating budget has been stripped to the bone, and this has caused major capability gaps in the Defence Force.
We all now know that the 12 state-of-the-art Gripen fighter jets have been vacuum-packed, rather like frozen chickens, and placed in long-term storage because of Defence cuts. The Defence Force is caught in a terrible fix which, put simply, is this: The demand for Defence Force employment is going up and the Defence Force's operating budget is going down.
However, the Defence department, frustratingly, does not seem to be able to help itself by making a credible argument concerning the Defence budget. We are faced with tired, old arguments about the Defence budget. Defence spending, we are told, should be pegged at 2% of the gross domestic product. This, we are told, is what international financial institutions recommend. Well, that is simply not true. What international financial institutions recommend for developing countries is that Defence spending should not exceed 2% of the GDP.
Then, we are faced with hazy arguments about the Defence budget. Incredibly, almost nobody in the Department of Defence and Military Veterans seems to know exactly by how much the Defence budget would have to be increased if it was, in fact, pegged at 2% of the GDP. Well, the answer to that question, for those of you who are interested, is roughly R30 billion, which in itself undermines the credibility of the argument.
We are also faced with dishonest arguments about the Defence budget. What the Department of Defence and Military Veterans has not disclosed is that there is, in fact, a surplus of R4,6 billion - yes, R4,6 billion - which has been warehoused in the secret Special Defence Account, SDA.
Why?
The department claims to be underfunded, but effectively hides R4,6 billion in the SDA.
Explain!
To me it seems as if the Defence department is carrying a begging bowl in one hand and R4,6 billion in the other hand. The Defence department also seems reluctant to face the fact that expenditure on personnel has ballooned and now exceeds 50% of the total Defence budget. [Interjections.] More than R3 billion has been shifted since 2010-11 to increase the remuneration of personnel, many of whom are surplus to the needs of the Defence Force.
The fact is that the Defence Force has become a top-heavy, mushroom-shaped monster. In 2011, for example, we had 19 admirals in the SA Navy, but only 17 ships, many of them alongside the quay. [Laughter.] To twist the words in a famous note penned by a United States Defence Secretary:
It is hard to imagine how a collection of such talented, intelligent, honourable, dedicated, patriotic people, who care about the security of South Africa, and the men and women in the armed services, could have combined to produce such a mess.
We cannot go on like this. We have to find a way to increase the operating budget and allocate resources to the sharp end of the Defence Force, because we have to ensure that our soldiers are never again left dangling, without the necessary support and the necessary equipment, as they were in the CAR. This is imperative, not least because the SANDF is about to begin a very high-risk mission, under the auspices of the United Nations, in conducting offensive operations against rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The last best hope is the Defence Review. That is why we need the Defence Review to be finalised as soon as possible. In the end, if the Defence Review does not succeed, then the Defence Force will not succeed. The Minister's statement in this regard is welcomed.
It goes without saying that in a democracy such as ours, the Commander in Chief, President Zuma, and the Defence Force must comply with the Constitution. We all know that the President has an obligation to inform Parliament promptly and in appropriate detail about any deployment of the