Dear Editor
The Minister of Defence Angie Motshekga has again been caught in a lie. In her latest written reply to a Parliamentary question, she not only evades the question as to how R813 million – allocated for the compensation of troops – were spent, but she also contradicts herself and the SANDF top brass who have been covering up the struggling department’s financial mismanagement crisis.
Not only has the Minister failed to provide a line-by-line breakdown, but she has now openly contradicted both her own previous statements and those made by the SANDF in recent weeks by claiming that:
- The entire R813.3 million was allocated for compensation (allowances and wages),
- Yet R173.5 million of that was somehow “unspent” and diverted to Operation Prosper, a completely separate domestic operation, and
The first payments to troops were made in March 2024 – four months before the funds were actually allocated by Treasury in July 2024.
True to form, the Minister’s response leaves more questions that answers: if the full amount was truly allocated to compensation, why was over R173 million diverted elsewhere when, in their own admission just this week, not all troops have been paid their full allowances and would be investigated?
The numbers don’t add up; and the excuses are piling up. This is not just a paperwork problem – it is a national defence credibility crisis and one which the Minister’s protector in Parliament, Malusi Gigaba, can no longer continue hiding from parliamentary oversight.
The DA reiterates our call on Joint Standing Committee on Defence Co-Chairperson Malusi Gigaba to stop shielding the Minister from scrutiny. It is clear that the Minister is either unable or unwilling to account honestly to Parliament. As a committee chairperson, Mr Gigaba must now choose whether he will execute his duty and let Parliament do its work – or whether he will remain complicit in this cover-up.
The DA has already escalated the matter to Parliament’s House Chairperson, Hon. Cedric Frolick, and shall now call for urgent intervention to compel the JSCD to convene a special sitting on this matter.
The SANDF and Parliament’s integrity is at stake.
Regards
Nicholas Gotsell MP
DA NCOP Member on Security & Justice