Troops in DRC may deplete SANDF for election

SA could be left vulnerable in the run-up to the elections and other unforeseen disasters, a military expert and the DA said on Tuesday in reaction to news that the country was sending thousands of soldiers to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of a peace intervention force.

The 2,900 soldiers from the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) will form part of the regional force from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) dubbed SAMIDRC to assist in the DRC’s fight against armed groups in the east of that country.

The SA army issued an emergency request last month for the procurement of 60,000 ration packs worth about R19m to sustain the soldiers, according to a letter seen by Business Day.

The letter said the procurement was necessary because the army had received a preliminary notice of an order, or warning orders in military parlance, to prepare for the deployment of soldiers countrywide over the elections.

As the SANDF budget is already tight and the air force hardly has any helicopters to give vital air support to its forces in the DRC conflict, at least one military expert has strongly criticised the government for making another commitment outside its borders.

Military analyst Helmoed-Römer Heitman said this would leave the army bare of any reserves as it was already stretched thin by its commitments in border patrols and other deployments abroad.

Kobus Marais, the DA spokesperson on defence, said the latest DRC deployment showed a president and a government totally out of touch with the country’s best interests.

“The SANDF’s prime mission equipment and capabilities will be decimated in the process and government is seemingly hellbent on achieving this.

“Our country needs a proper defence force right now — especially if things go wrong in the run-up to the elections or thereafter. Having our soldiers scattered all over Africa will not help to stabilise our own country.”

The deployment of the new peace mission would cost the taxpayers in excess of R2bn, an amount President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said was baked into the budget.

The expenditure “will not impact provisions for the defence force’s regular maintenance and emergency repairs”, presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said, adding that sending troops to the DRC was a responsible action to fulfil SA’s obligations to Sadc and to promote stability in the region.

“The focus of the deployment will be on assisting the DRC in the fight against illegal armed groups in eastern DRC and to ultimately restore peace and security in the highly affected areas of North and South Kivu,” said Magwenya.

The announcement by the presidency followed weeks of speculation about why the government and the SANDF had been silent about details of the deployment while dozens of military cargo flights between Goma and SA were uplifting troops and equipment.

Magwenya said that Ramaphosa had notified parliament on December 21 2023, as required by the constitution.