National Assembly Debate of Urgent Importance

Extracts of speeches by Chris Hattingh MP, Cathy Labuschagne MP, Maliyakhe Shelembe MP and Emma Louise Powell MP from today’s National Assembly Debate of Urgent Importance:

Chris Hattingh MP: DA Spokesperson on Defence & Military Veterans

“Let us honour our fallen. Our deepest condolences go to the families, to the South African National Defence Force. We honour our soldiers who lost their lives – not just in battle, but in preventable tragedies, like the SAMIL vehicle accident Friday. We stand with our soldiers, the wounded, those who will carry lifelong scars, and those still in the fight.

But let’s be clear: they did not die in the defence of the defenceless – as the President claimed. They were not part of a well-planned peacekeeping mission. They were thrown into battle ill-equipped, underfunded, and without critical support in one of the world’s longest running and most brutal conflicts. They fought alongside the DRC armed forces against the M23 rebels, yet their own government sent them into war unprepared. The lack of accountability for these operational failures speak to wider issues of both governance and leadership. The President and the Minister must be held accountable for failing to prioritise the safety and effectiveness of our troops.

We need to withdraw from the DRC immediately. And Minister Angie Motshekga must go – voluntarily or otherwise.

The time for excuses is over. Lives are at stake. Leadership is failing. And South Africa cannot afford to stand by any longer.”

Cathy Labuschagne MP: DA Spokesperson on Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs

“Winston Churchill said, “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen”. If there ever was a time to sit down and listen, it is now, Mr President, Commander in Chief of the Defence Force.

South Africans are burdened and suffering. The loved ones of fourteen dead soldiers are mourning. The families of about 2000 of our troops trapped in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are worrying about their safety, and if they will ever see them again, asking what they are even doing there,

Armed conflict has been part of the DRC for more than a decade, and South Africa has been involved in various missions in the region over the years. But concerns over SANDF readiness were raised as early as 2016/17, when Mission Thebe trained 9000 FARDC recruits to create a Rapid Reaction Brigade and military instructors were deployed in the region without proper authorisation. It was later reported that R55 million had to be borrowed for the instructor’s rations and logistics, as at that stage already, our Defence Force did not even have the money to undertake the most basic border patrols.”

Maliyakhe Shelembe MP: DA Deputy Spokesperson on Defence & Military Veterans

The question that we have to ask ourselves is how the President can make a commitment to the African Union and the United Nations and deploy our poorly armed soldiers to the DRC, ostensibly for peacekeeping purposes, full knowing that the SANDF is not combat ready to deal with the Armed M23 Rebels.

The correct answer is that the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, either does not care, or was ill advised. He sent our brave soldiers into a hot conflict, fully knowing that South African lives will be at risk – he should be ashamed of himself.

It is the responsibility of the President and the Minister of Defence to ensure that our soldiers are combat ready before they are deployed anywhere, especially in areas like the DRC where the heavily armed M23 rebels have long been on the advance.

The Democratic Alliance finds it bizarre that the President and the Minister of Defence decided to continue with the deployment despite serious challenges in the Department of Defence.”

Emma Louise Powell MP: DA Spokesperson on International Relations & Cooperation

“The situation in the eastern DRC is dire.

Nearly 3,000 civilians have been slaughtered by M23’s recent advance into Goma.

Half a million people have been displaced, adding to the two million who have already fled.

Just last week, 150 female inmates were raped and burned to death in the Goma jailbreak.

In total, this conflict has claimed an estimated five million lives over the last three decades.

The truth is, South Africa is in no position to take on the role of peacemaker or mediator.

Neither is the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which, like ANC government leaders, has repeatedly failed to uphold even basic democratic principles, rubber-stamping rigged elections in Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and likely the DRC itself, whilst turning a blind eye to the immense human tragedy unfolding in Sudan.

This is aside from the multi-cycle budget cuts that have hollowed out our defence force, rendering our troops entirely immobilised.”