We simply cannot afford to delay the Defence Review any longer in Parliament

29 September 2014

The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, tabled the South African Defence Review 2014 ("Defence Review") in Parliament on 03 July 2014.

However, the Defence Review has been bogged down for months in Parliament.

The Defence Review is a long-term policy review setting the defence direction for the next twenty to thirty years and contains far-reaching recommendations to reverse the critical state of decline of the Defence Force.

The Defence Review pulls no punches and finds that the Defence Force: 

"...is in a critical state of decline, characterized by: force imbalance between capabilities; block obsolescence and unaffordability of many of its main operating systems; a disproportionate tooth-to-tail ratio; the inability to meet current standing defence commitments; and the lack of critical mobility."

The Defence Review also finds that: 

"...even with an immediate intervention, it could take at least five years to arrest the decline and another five years to develop a limited and sustainable defence capability."

There is therefore an element of urgency: we have to act now to reverse the critical state of decline of the Defence Force. 

However, for nearly three months the Defence Review has been gathering dust in Parliament.

The Joint Standing Committee on Defence must make recommendations to the Minister on the Defence Review.

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, referred the Defence Review to the Joint Standing Committee on 16 July 2014.

However, for some reason the Joint Standing Committee on Defence has not even been established in Parliament.

There is bound to be a great deal of disagreement about the recommendations of the Defence Review. 

The principal disagreement is likely to centre on whether the recommendation to establish a Defence Force comprising of 189 000 personnel, 158 combat units, and consuming R88 billion per year, or 2.4% of the GDP, is either necessary or affordable.

However, the fact that there is going to be disagreement about the recommendations should not delay the Defence Review in Parliament.

I have, therefore, written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, requesting her to take the necessary steps to ensure that the Joint Standing Committee on Defence is established so that it can deal with the Defence Review in Parliament.

We have to get the Defence Review show on the road because, in the end, if the Defence Review does not succeed, the Defence Force will not succeed.

We simply cannot afford to delay the Defence Review any longer in Parliament.

Statement issued by David Maynier MP, DA Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, September 29 2014

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