House Chairperson, the constitutional mandate and obligation of the Department of Defence is given by section 200(2), and I quote:
The primary object of the defence force is to defend and the Republic, its territorial integrity and its people in accordance with the Constitution and the principles of international law regulating the use of force.
Every priority and expense must be justified in terms of the compliance with this mandate. I want to pay tribute, firstly to Dr Gulube, our Secretary of Defence who will retire this year. Sir, we have had a very good working relationship and we sadly wish you the best for your future. [Applause.] Secondly, we pay tribute to our brave soldiers and their command structures for
their service, often under extreme and under-resourced conditions - especially those doing service on our country borders in the DRC and from this week those who will be deployed in Cape Town - the latter under abnormal conditions, and where the Minister of Police unwisely gave advance warning to the drug lords and gangs of their deployment.
This deployment is an indictment against the police and confirms another failure by the ANC government. While the army has done extremely well - given the short notice, this operation can only keep the lid on for a short period. Minister, up until today our portfolio committee has not been informed by the President in terms of section 203, subsection (1) and (3) of the Constitution.
Only this Parliament must find a lasting solution for urban problems, and not make it a Defence responsibility. Last year, I stated that we are at a crossroad where hard and difficult decisions had to be made. Unfortunately, little has changed. This year I must caution the Minister that the light in the tunnel is an oncoming runaway train, and not the end of a
tunnel. In nearly every aspect the department has gone backwards. Based on submissions to the portfolio committee, we must be preparing for a "day zero" scenario.
Comparable countries with a GDP growth rate of 3% to 4% spend 2 to 3% on their Defence budget. South Africa has a GDP growth rate of around 1% but only allocates 0,93% of its annual GDP to the Defence. We are approaching the cliff at an alarming pace. South Africa has deteriorated from a defence leader, to a nearly negligent player. Our defence industry - a potentially significant contributor to economic growth and job creation, can no longer depend on the procurement by the SA National Defence Force, SANDF, and do we see more and more South African designed and manufactured defence equipment being used by foreign nations.
It is the ANC policies and leadership that has failed to create an environment conducive to domestic and foreign investments. The failures of the ANC are responsible for the low GDP, low job creation, low defence industry developments, growth and spending and 0,93% spending as well on defence priorities. This is not in
the best interest of our citizens and our integrity, in response to section 200(2).
The Defence Force requires around R80 billion to fund their programmes and projects, while only R50,5 billion. This represents a nominal increase of 4,2% from the previous year, which is a decrease of 75% in real terms, at the index of 12%. Over the past years, billions were transferred from the Special Defence Account, SDA, for the overexpenditure on human resources. It is envisaged the overexpenditure this year will be R3 billion on human resources costs.
Contrary to the guidelines from the 2015 Defence Review and National Treasury, the department will spend 60% of their budget on human resources, 30% on operations and leave only 10% for equipment. This is not even enough to maintain the assets and equipment of the Defence Force, what more to say about the procurement of new equipment.
The SDA which is to fund all capital, equipment and hardware is facing depletion without us having effective oversight over its
spending. This must change. The current budget proposals indicate drastic cuts where operations involved, for instance, flight and sea hours and new equipment procurement. This must a red flag. Vice Admiral Hlongwane has expressed his personal concern that vessel maintenance is challenging given the lack of budgetary support.
Minister, this trend cannot proceed, and something drastic must be done to prevent us from losing what is left of our defence capability. The Defence Force cannot further be an employment safety net but it must be transformed into a lean mean fighting machine, to deal with the defence challenges. Of the 74 900 staff members 50% are on contracts, and only 37 593 are in the army, however, the infantry capability subprogram has seen a real budget decrease of 10,21%. This is where our soldiers are coming from, who must protect our porous borders and operate in the DRC and this week be deployed in Cape Town as well.
The SANDF cannot survive and protect our country with the ever- aging staff component. A disproportional amount is spent on the top command structure which prevent rejuvenation and a young
combat-ready army. This trend should not be allowed to continue. Although both the Defence Review and the National Treasury emphasised and support a smaller human resource structure, will a younger staff component be much more affordable and make a big contribution to a lower spending.
The SA Military Health Service is a huge cost to the Defence Force, while the three hospitals cannot be fully equipped and funded. A conventional war is not expected. Should the logic of military hospitals under the Defence Force be reconsidered or should it be transferred to the Department of Health.
Minister, you and I agree on the fundamentals for an effective defence Force. The DA's current replenishment of supplies, transport of equipment and airlift of soldiers are inadequate. It is an embarrassment when only one Oryx can be deployed to assist with the Mozambican floods, or currently where the Air Force had to borrow one from the Overberg in support of Operation Prosper in Cape Town.
Minister, a weak economy and decreasing budget are realities over the medium term. The DA believes we can achieve more with the current budget through efficient reprioritisation with the focus on securing our borders and our sovereignty.
Minister, we want to make the following proposals to you, which we believe will alleviate the budget pressures: You should commission a revision of the 2015 Defence Review, to conform to the medium-term economic outlook and medium-term Defence challenges; secure a monetary exit mechanism in favour of rejuvenation; restructure the Defence Force based on foreseeable requirements in compliance with section 200, with the emphasis on safeguarding our land and sea - support to our ocean and defence industry, as well as regional stability; increase our border protection units to at least 22; develop and implement a cyber-tech strategy which can be a force multiplier; speedily acquire Air Force equipment such as the C-130, maritime patrol aircraft and the replacement of our reliable Oryx helicopters - if not, we face a grave threat to our sovereignty and our economy; increase support to our irreplaceable reserve forces; ensure improved logistical support to our soldiers; liquidate
nonessential assets in favour of assets like the Badger, the inshore patrol vessels, IPV, and urgent airlift equipment; ensure the finalisation of Projects Biro, Hotel and Hoefyster ... [Time expired.] House Chairperson, this budget is inadequate for the current defence structures; it is not addressing our challenges, and is thus bad value for money. I thank you. [Applause.]