[ad_1]
With the deployment of 73,000 soldiers, the Defense Department expects the National Treasury to sympathize with the SA National Defense Force (SANDF) in allocating its budget.
Addressing the Portfolio Committee on Defense and Military Veterans on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Sam Gulube said the department had requested an “additional budget” and hoped the committee would support the request.
“I hope for a sympathetic ear from the Treasury,” he said, adding that the department had to deploy some 73,000 soldiers to help with the government response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gulube added that there were specific pieces of equipment that SANDF would need to fulfill its Covid-19 related duties.
Deputy Defense Minister and Military Veterans Thabang Makwetla said other departments were slow to meet their financial obligations to SANDF.
“The department is trapped forever between a rock and a difficult place because it is an emergency department.”
He said the department could not defer its work until another department had paid for it.
Two weeks ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa, in a letter, informed Parliament that he had authorized the deployment of an additional 73,180 SANDF members to help police fight the spread of Covid-19.
Ramaphosa said the additional troops would be deployed until June 26, increasing the 2,280 already on the ground.
The deployment will cost the fiscus nearly R5 billion and will consist of regular, reserve and auxiliary forces.
[ad_2]
