Department of defence spends over R1 billion on Cuban service providers
21 May 2021
A written reply to a DA parliamentary question has revealed that the Department of Defence and Military Veterans (DDMV) has spent over R1 billion, in the past 10 years, paying Cuban service providers to maintain and repair its defence equipment under Project Thusano.
With South Africa’s local defence industry caught in a death spiral and job losses an ever present concern, it is inexplicably curious why the ANC government has been outsourcing defence contracts to Cuban companies at the expense of local defence contractors.
The DA will be submitting follow-up questions to ascertain whether there are any steps that the Department is taking to ensure that most of its Prime Mission Defence Equipment repair and maintenance budget is spent locally. We cannot afford to have the wilful decapitation of our defence industry by shifting the defence equipment maintenance budget offshore.
Over the years, our men and women in uniform have watched the force’s operational capabilities decline due to relentless budget cuts. Meanwhile, allocations to defence contractors have remain steady or even increased, confirming that the ANC government will rather subsidise its Cuban friends than build our defence capabilities.