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