By Palesa Matlala
- The Defence Department expects to overspend its employee compensation budget by R3.3-billion, with the shortfall projected to grow without urgent intervention.
- Minister Angie Motshekga says ageing equipment, broken aircraft, affected ships and crumbling infrastructure show how badly underfunding has hit the military.
Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga has warned that a massive salary budget shortfall could push her department towards collapse.
The Defence Department is facing a projected R3.3-billion overspend on employee compensation.
And the financial hole could get even deeper.
Motshekga told members of the National Council of Provinces on Wednesday that the department had already overspent by about R3-billion in the previous financial year.
Without intervention, the overspending is expected to rise to R4-billion in 2027/28 and R4.6-billion in 2028/29.
Motshekga said the salary bill was one of the biggest threats facing the department.
She blamed years of underfunding, saying the department’s human resources budget had failed to keep up with salary increases, inflation and other costs.
The department has repeatedly raised the funding crisis with Treasury, Cabinet and Parliament.
It is now looking at ways to cut spending.
One option is to encourage employees who can retire to take early retirement. The department is also considering incentives for employees to leave.
But Motshekga warned that these steps would not fix the bigger problem.
Cutting staff numbers also comes with another danger. The South African National Defence Force needs younger members to replace older personnel and keep the military running.
“We’re not recruiting at the rate which we would have wished to recruit.”
Motshekga said the department currently recruits about 5,000 people every two years.
She said this was not enough to meet the demands placed on the defence force.
The department therefore faces a difficult balancing act.
It needs to control its salary bill while still bringing young people into the military.
It is considering several measures, including limiting recruitment and encouraging employees to leave when the time is right.
Motshekga was also asked whether highly paid senior employees and generals were behind the department’s money problems.
She said she was not aware of generals receiving bloated salaries.
“What has been brought to my attention, which I’m witness to, is that the resources allocated to the defence force don’t match up with what they’re supposed to be doing.”
She said the effects of the money shortage could be seen in the condition of military equipment and infrastructure.
Aircraft were not working, ships were affected and infrastructure was deteriorating.
“It has nothing to do with generals. It’s about underfunding.”
Motshekga said the department cannot carry out all its responsibilities without enough money.
She said cost cutting alone would not close the funding gap.
At the same time, simply cutting recruitment could hurt the future of the defence force because it still needs younger personnel to maintain its capabilities.
Motshekga said she hoped Parliament and the National Council of Provinces would support efforts to deal with the military’s capability problems.
But she said the final answer rests with Parliament and Cabinet because they decide how much money the Defence Department receives.
“We don’t appropriate monies for ourselves. We live with what we get.”
Pictured above: Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga.
Image source: Department of Military Veterans
