Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said any decision regarding the R5 billion allocated for the SANDF peace mission will take into account the Department of Defence’s needs amid the withdrawal of troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This comes in response to concerns raised by ActionSA's Alan Beesley regarding the financial ramifications of the planned troop withdrawal.
Beesley wrote to Godongwana enquiring about the financial implications of the SANDF's exit from the DRC, including the impact on the R3.5 billion for the deployment to the DRC after the decision by the Southern African Development Community’s withdrawal of troops from the DRC.
He also wanted to know whether the R5 billion allocated in the 2025 Budget for the peacekeeping commitments will be reallocated, reduced and/or repurposed in light of the SADC withdrawal.
In his written reply, Godongwana said the financial implications of the phased withdrawal of SANDF troops from the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMI-DRC) will only be determined once SADC provides a formal withdrawal plan.
“It is important to clarify that the Department of Defence was allocated R2.1 billion in 2024/25 for the SAMI-DRC mission through Section 16 of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (PFMA), not the R3.5 billion indicated in the question.
“The National Treasury will continue to engage with the Department of Defence to assess the financial requirements associated with the withdrawal and ensure that costs are managed within available resources,” he said.
Godongwana also said while the SAMI-DRC mission was concluding, it must be carefully managed. The withdrawal of South African troops will incur costs related to logistics, transport, and operational requirements in 2025/26.
“The potential reallocation of the R5 billion initially earmarked for the SAMI-DRC mission will be carefully assessed in line with the government’s broader fiscal policy objectives and the most pressing budgetary priorities.
“Any decision regarding the use of these funds will take into account the evolving financial needs of the Department of Defence, the costs associated with the phased withdrawal of troops, and the overall sustainability of the defence budget.”
Godongwana reiterated that the National Treasury was actively working to address historical baseline reductions in the Department of Defence’s budget to ensure a more sustainable and balanced allocation of resources over the medium term.
He had hinted at the public hearings of the standing and select committees on finance that SANDF will retain the R5 billion allocated for peacekeeping mission in this financial year.
Godongwana had said even if savings were derived from the SANDF withdrawal from DRC, it did not automatically mean that the money would be moved away from the defence force.
“As we indicated in the past, the defence has been underfunded for years. Among other things, for instance, the point we have been making is that the defence has lost almost about R347 billion between 2008 and 2023.
“Its base (line funding) has been eroded. That money (allocated budget) must try to correct defence force’s baseline, which has been eroded,” Godongwana said.
The National Treasury previously stated that the secretariat of SADC has not yet issued an official withdrawal communiqué and detailed plan for the withdrawal of troops to the Department of Defence.
It said the withdrawal of South African troops will incur costs related to logistics, transport, and operational requirements in 2025/26.
“The National Treasury will work closely with the Department of Defence to assess the financial implications of the phased withdrawal of troops from the DRC once SADC issues an official withdrawal communiqué and detailed plan.”