Thank you, Chair. Now, the Joint Standing Committee on Defence has never been briefed on the military preparedness of the Defence Force. We do not know enough about the capability gaps which exist in the Defence Force. But we do know enough to suggest that, in the unlikely event of a conventional threat, President Jacob Zuma will require a big white flag to wave from the Union Buildings. This is because the current state of the Defence Force's military preparedness leaves the President with only one possible course of action in the event of a conventional attack, and that is surrender. Thankfully, there is no prospect of a conventional threat to South Africa in the foreseeable future.
We are used to the tired old argument that the capability gaps in the Defence Force exist because of underfunding. However, the problem is not simply underfunding, but often a failure to prioritise funding. Firstly, 50,6% of the entire Defence budget will be spent on compensation of employees, many of whom are surplus to the needs of the Defence Force. The situation is even worse at service level: 65,5% of the SA Army's budget, 72,5% of the SA Air Force's budget and 58,9% of the SA Navy's budget will be spent on the compensation of employees.
Secondly, there is an enormous amount of wasteful expenditure in the Defence Force. [Interjections.] We will spend, for example, R197 million in this financial year on more than 30 defence attachs, including a new defence attach in Cuba, the Minister's favourite island in the Caribbean. [Interjections.]
Thirdly, there is a great deal of frivolous expenditure in the Defence Force. The SA Air Force, for example, which cannot afford to properly operate the Gripen fighter jets, has spent more than R3 million on gardening services since 2009. Let me be clear - that is gardening services, not guarding services. [Interjections.] In the end, the operating budget of the Defence Force has been stripped to the bone. So, it should not come as a surprise that our soldiers are in the barracks, not on the border; our aircraft are in the hangars, not in the air; and our ships are in harbour, not at sea.
A recent incident, which exploded on social networks, demonstrates the decline in the Defence Force. Lieutenant Colonel Ruth Ndayi, an SA Air Force officer, recently went shopping in full uniform, wearing a pair of pink slippers - a pair of pink "pantoffels" [slippers]. [Interjections.] If the Defence Force was as disciplined as the Minister claims ... [Interjections.]