‘If I have difficulties, I’ll go to ANC’: Motshekga says she won’t ‘commit’ to resigning

Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga says she will not pledge to resign over accountability concerns in her departments.

Motshekga appeared before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday to present the audit outcomes and financial statements of the Department of Military Veterans.

The Auditor-General issued the department a qualified opinion for the 2023/2024 financial year, highlighting deficiencies in internal controls.

Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga won’t resign

During the session, ActionSA MP Alan Beesley pointed to the Auditor-General’s findings, which highlighted a pervasive culture of a lack of accountability.

“If there is no improvement in this situation in a year’s time, will you resign, and if not, why not?

“We cannot keep having this situation where there is zero accountability and South Africans are the ones that suffer for it,” Beesley asked.

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In response, Motshekga implied that she would not step down unless the ANC recalled her due to underperformance.

“My answer with due respect, I’m here as a minister deployed by the majority party, so if I have difficulties, I’ll go to them, not to the committee or to the public. If the people deployed may not help me, they’ll come back to me.

“So, I can’t even commit myself to that because it’s a matter between myself and those that deployed me, not for the committee,” she stated.

Watch the meeting below:

Deputy Defence and Military Veterans Minister Bantu Holomisa emphasised that many of the challenges facing the department were inherited.

He urged MPs to evaluate the executive’s performance based on the upcoming 2025/2026 financial year.

“That’s where you can begin to evaluate our performance,” Holomisa said.

Challenges

Acting Military Veterans Director-General Nontobeko Mafu provided further insight into the department’s struggles, particularly in delivering benefits such as housing for veterans.

She explained that these services depend on other departments.

“We provide housing as a benefit, yet the mandate of building houses is sitting with the human settlements department,” she said.

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“So, there are serious dependencies. We set a target on the basis of the need from ourselves and the available budget, but unfortunately, if the human settlements department is not giving us an opportunity or they do not have a project, then we are unable to actually meet that target.”

Mafu also revealed that attempts to enforce consequence management have been met with strong resistance.

“Consequence management in the department remains a problem. There is a toxic culture within the department,” she said, adding that some officials are shielded from accountability due to political backing.

Instability with military veterans

Motshekga conceded that a lack of effective management within the department was a major issue.

“If you look at the structure of the DMV, you have 193 posts, 163 of which are occupied, but even within that, the people occupying these positions are not necessarily aligned with the job descriptions they are supposed to fulfil.

“For example, the internal auditor is a person who does not even have the qualifications to be there,” she said.

The minister also cited political interference as a factor contributing to dysfunctionality.

“I’ll bring you images of members of this Parliament – even in this very house – who convene meetings at DMV.

“You go and discuss something at a strategic level with officials, then you come to Parliament, and you are asked about the things discussed internally in the department.”

She stressed that the department has not had a head of department (HOD) lasting more than two years.

“That’s the level of instability. You talk about a department where there’s no policies and systems. That’s why I said we can’t even deny the dysfunctionality.”

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