The SANDF's Shift from Defence to Social Services: Insights from Adam Habib

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) critical function is no longer defence, but to serve as the social service for former ANC and MK combatants, claimed former Wits University vice chancellor Professor Adam Habib.

Habib said the SANDF was used as a support mechanism for those who were involved in the fight for the country's liberation.

“Again, a nation’s resources were essentially used to support an incompetent liberation aristocracy. Until we break this, we have no future."

Habib’s response came days after the Chief of the South African Navy, Vice Admiral Monde Lobese, commented that the National Treasury was compromising maritime security through underfunding.

Lobese was addressing the Joint Standing Committee of Defence on the state of the Navy as well as the delays in procuring spare parts for vessels and frigates.

“The National Treasury can’t be allowed to be a super department or a government on its own over and above the current government.

"The National Treasury has been ordered by the commander in chief to fund the SANDF to (the amount) of 1.7% of GDP. We are mindful of the challenges that the country is facing but that can’t be negotiable,” he said.

Lobese reiterated the impact of underfunding, which he said crippled their operations.

“This process we are following now is causing major delays that is why our platoons can’t go out to sea. It’s because we do not have the spares we require immediately for us to undertake these maintenance and upkeep activities as and when it is required.

"The Drakensberg has been non-operational for five years, not because of a lack of will from myself, my predecessor or everybody else within the navy, it is because of the knee that the National Treasury is putting on the neck of the South African Navy that makes us unable to sail, to fight, to win and we remain unchallenged at sea,” Lobese said.

The Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) Songezo Zibi, said he was one of those who championed for the funding of the SANDF, adding that he wanted the defence force to get more funding.

Zibi, however, said the fact that the SANDF did not have sufficient funding was patently not up to the Treasury, and suggested that it was silly to suggest that the Treasury was the sole decider.

“There is a Budget Sub-Committee of Cabinet, (which is) not chaired by the Finance Minister.

"But because I am very invested in funding the SANDF I took the time to consult a former Director General (DG) of Treasury to ask him 'why have you not funded the SANDF for so long? Why have you starved our armed forces of critical resources?'.

"He told me when the previous Defence Review was adopted, he met with the heads of the navy, air force and army to discuss (matters). 'He said we have to follow what is in this review otherwise we will get asked where we got the mandate for the other things we fund'. They agreed,” Zibi said.

He further stated that the SANDF was mismanaging the little money it got, adding that the military was riddled with corruption and generals who did not want to listen to the Secretary of Defence on anything.

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