Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa.
Image: Armand Hough / ANAStudio
Defence Deputy Minister Bantu Holomisa on Thursday dropped a bombshell when he accused the National Treasury of delaying the release of funds for the SANDF military operations authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Holomisa made the accusations when the Defence Department briefed the Joint Standing Committee on Defence on the deployment of the SANDF to support the SAPS to maintain law and order from June 28 to the end of July amid the illegal immigration protests.
He said soldiers do not determine when they will deploy as they execute lawful instructions in fulfillment of their constitutional responsibilities.
“However, (there is) one recurring challenge that continues to frustrate the department. While announcement requirements commence immediately, the release of necessary funding by the fiscus often does not occur,” Holomisa said.
He also said the Defence Department could not simply withdraw soldiers from an authorised deployment because funding has not yet been released.
“Such a decision, as we all know, would compromise national security, undermine the authority of the Commander-in-Chief, and embarrass the State at a time when South Africans expect the SANDF to fulfill its constitutional obligation,” he said.
The MPs were told that out of the R54.6 million allocated for the month-long deployment, R20.4m was for salaries and R34.1m for goods and services.
“The funding for this deployment will be handled as unforeseen expenditure within the overall Operation Prosper allocation,” said SANDF Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant-General Siphiwe Sangweni.
EFF MP Carl Niehaus raised concern that the R54.6m was handled as unforeseen expenditure.
“This raises serious questions. Why was the deployment not funded through the R600m specially allocated to address challenges by March and March?” asked Niehaus.
ANC MP Tshilidzi Munyai said they were deeply concerned by the failure of the National Treasury to play its role regarding the constitutionally authorised military operations.
“National security can't be held hostage by the bureaucracy of the National Treasury. The role of the National Treasury is to ensure sound public management of fiscal discipline, not to block the funds for the decision of the government, especially taken by the head of the state," Munyai said.
Holomisa stated that the Defence Department could not continue diverting funds from other already constrained programmes to finance authorised deployments.
“Such an approach is neither sustainable nor consistent with sound financial management, and exposes the department to adverse audit findings. We cannot afford further audit queries arising simply because the department had to reprioritise funds to execute a deployment that had already been authorised.”
The deputy minister urged the committee to engage with the Portfolio Committee on Finance, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Treasury to develop a sustainable funding mechanism for authorised SANDF deployments.
“Once a deployment has been authorised by the president, the corresponding funding process should be activated without delay. Our soldiers should never be placed in a position where uncertainty over funding affects their ability to execute their constitutional mandate,” said Holomisa.
Co-chairperson of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence Phiroane Phala said Holomisa’s concern was noted.
“This cannot be a recurring challenge as you say. We have noted all what you have mentioned here, and it is important as you made a proposal that this committee needs to engage the Portfolio Committee on Finance and the National Treasury to deal with recurring challenges,” Phala said.
Dakota Legoete, chairperson of Defence and Military Veteran Portfolio Committee, said a meeting was planned with the National Treasury, the Standing Committee on Appropriations, and Scopa before the end of August.
Legoete said such a committee could be jointly convened by the two committees to look at issues raised by Holomisa, among other things.
“We propose that we have a full-time finance technical team to deal with letters between the president, National Treasury, Appropriations, and Scopa,” he said.
Questions were sent to the National Treasury for comment, but an automated response acknowledged receipt of the media query.
“Please note that the turnaround time for a response is 24 to 48 hours but can be less for some queries,” it said.
Meanwhile, MPs heard that some of the 3,405 soldiers were already deployed in Hillbrow in Gauteng and Mpumalanga in KwaZulu-Natal on June 30.
They were drawn from units in the provinces and are not part of Operation Prosper dealing with gang violence and illegal mining members.
“We are still ready and hope there will be no need for the SANDF to deploy,” said Sangweni about the deployment he described as serving as a deterrent.