SANDF continues doing more for less, minister says

As we prepare to close the book on 2020, it is right to look back on the year we have experienced. This year has been tough for all South Africans but even more so for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

The SANDF has been progressively asked to do more for less for several years now. This year, however, was unprecedented, but it was a challenge that the members who make up this proud national asset accepted and met, starting with the highly successful repatriation of South African nationals stranded in China after the outbreak of Covid-19.

The coronavirus would go on, as it did for almost everyone else in the country, to define our entire year.

When the president and commander-in-chief, Cyril Ramaphosa, declared a national state of disaster, imposing the country’s first lockdown of the democratic era, he looked immediately to the men and women of the SANDF to help enforce it.

The greatest deployment in our history, however, was for more than just putting boots on the ground, ensuring that citizens adhered to social distancing and the wearing of masks; we delivered in many other ways that were unseen, like providing drinking water and literally building bridges in remote areas that would otherwise have been cut off, or deploying our medical professionals to areas that were buckling – and would have collapsed – under the strain of the pandemic.

Throughout all of this, the SANDF has continued to fulfil its constitutional mandate to defend the land, sea and air sovereignty of South Africa, aiding law enforcement agencies in their fight against cross-border crime, as well as fulfilling the country’s global responsibilities to peacekeeping in the biggest United Nations (UN) mission in the world, Monusco – including leading the UN’s unique Force Intervention Brigade and providing combat and combat support elements.

This has also been a year of great introspection and reflection for the department of defence and the command council of the SANDF.

We have learnt many vital lessons and confronted our own weaknesses and failings with courage and humility; whether it has been in isolated cases of misconduct by our members towards their civilian brothers and sisters or in our handling of sexual harassment or sexual exploitation cases, both here at home and on deployment.

We pride ourselves on being representative of the country we faithfully serve and a great example of what this country should be when it comes to working together for a single purpose that benefits everyone, built on the foundations of a culture of respect.

We have made great strides in this regard and will continue on this journey, building on the incredible successes we have achieved – by international standards, too – continuing to smash any glass ceilings that might stop anyone from achieving their dreams and unlocking their potential because of their gender, background or beliefs.

As is usual, the SANDF will not rest during the festive season, as the rest of the country does, because we serve so that you can sleep safely in your beds at night, so that you can take holidays, knowing that we are forever alert and at our posts.

All of this comes at a cost, though.

As we look to 2021 with hope that everyone’s fortunes will turn for the better, the department of defence does so in the full knowledge that next year is going to be even harder.

The rebuilding of this country will place a huge toll on all of us.

Our president has cautioned and counselled us of exactly this through each step of the lockdowns. We all have to do our bit.

For the SANDF, the next contribution will be to have our budget cut sizeably as part the of package of reforms being instituted to kickstart our country’s economy and fix state-owned enterprises and other institutions that are failing, or have failed.

The department of defence is not alone among government departments being asked to make these sacrifices. Other departments which have done yeoman service in combating the pandemic are also being told to cut. We can accept this.

We have no option, because it is in the national interest.

The question is, what kind of SANDF will we be left with? For years we have been asked to do more with less.

I have consistently warned that we will approach a point where the people of South Africa will have to temper their expectations of what their defence force can do for them because there simply won’t be enough money.

It’s not simply about turning on the taps for funding, but rather the understanding that defending a country takes people who have to be paid and who have to trained on equipment that is at least equal to the level of sophistication and scale that their enemies will use against them.

The sad reality is that our equipment is old and becoming older, while the nature of the threats we face are becoming exponentially more technologically advanced, especially in the realm of cybersecurity.

Training costs money, whether it’s keeping soldiers on target with their marksmanship or fighter pilots flying sorties to ensure they are ready to meet the threat.

This is never part of the discussion when budgets are debated. We are no longer about to pass the point of no return, that point is now upon us.

I would like to take this opportunity to personally wish all the members of the SANDF, their families and their commanders a very blessed Christmas and the very happiest possible 2021 and thank them sincerely for their service and sacrifice.

I would also like, on their behalf, to extend our very best wishes to the whole nation for this festive season.

• Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is defence and military veterans minister.

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