Defence force a ‘costly border guard’

A DAMNING report on the state of South Africa’s military has laid bare critical failings in the defence force.

Military experts have warned that unless the “downward spiral” is halted, the defence force could become nothing more than border guards.

According to the 2014 South African Defence Review, less than 1.2% of the country’s budget is spent on defence — not even enough to cover fuel, training, maintenance and repair costs. The review states:

The defence force has 1 680 combat vehicles, about a quarter of the 6 840 it had in 1990, 65 combat aircraft (down from 335 in the 1980s), and 11 warships (down from 23 in 1961);

Pilots in the air force — which is “critically underfunded”— are not being trained to fly Gripen fighter jets and combat helicopters because of an “inadequate flying-hours budget”;

Navy ships are not combat-ready because of a lack of maintenance caused by spiralling personnel costs;

Ammunition stocks “have been depleted over time”. The stock should cover 90 days’ fighting in high-, medium- and lowintensity operations, but the stocks “can by no means support this”;

The defence force is experiencing an “alarming loss” of skilled personnel, particularly engineers, technicians and air crew; and

The defence force is too poorly funded to “fully fulfil its constitutional responsibility to defend and protect South Africa and its people, and is hard-pressed even to maintain its current modest level of commitments”.

“The defence force is in a critical state of decline,” said Roelf Meyer, chairman of the defence review committee. —