As the world grapples with the complexities of national security, South Africa’s military continues to face significant funding pressures.
Deputy Defence and Military Veterans Minister Bantu Holomisa highlighted the need to form carefully structured public-private partnerships to supplement the tightening budgets and strengthen its defence capabilities.
Ricardo Teixeira, a defence analyst and junior editor at ProtectionWeb, explained that this public sector collaboration will be key in areas such as ammunition, command-and-control systems, and modern technology, including drones and intelligence surveillance.
He highlighted the need for investment in body armour, uniforms, and new rifles.
He argued that the real national security threat is the gross underfunding of the military, which sits at around R57.6 billion, equal to only 0.7% of GDP.
NATO members aim to spend up to 3.5% of GDP on their militaries, while the US is spending roughly 4%.
Teixeira suggested aiming for a more realistic target of 2% to 2.5% for South Africa, to undo two decades of underfunding.
“Ultimately, Treasury doesn’t have the appetite. But in rand terms, we are looking at close to a trillion rand in a decade.”
In addition to territorial integrity and people, Teixeira emphasised that South Africa’s military plays a key role in regional stability, due to its manufacturing economy and strategic location.
“We stabilise the region; we benefit from stability in the region. If the region becomes unstable, that becomes a problem for South Africa.
“We see it already now with Zimbabwe and Mozambique with humanitarian crises, threats of terrorism.”
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