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Still Looking for R813 Million Meant for Troops

Dear Editor

The Democratic Alliance (DA) condemns the ANC’s latest manoeuvre to shield Defence Minister Angie Motshekga from accountability over the missing R813 million earmarked for SANDF soldiers deployed to the DRC.

This week, Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) Chairperson, Malusi Gigaba, issued a contradictory and evasive statement in which he effectively confirmed that he, too, has abandoned the committee’s constitutional mandate of accountability. This comes after he made an explicit commitment on 3 July to write to the Minister to seek answers and timelines regarding the R813 million shortfall. That undertaking has now been unilaterally reversed.

The DA’s request for an urgent committee meeting is not about the withdrawal from the DRC. It is about the R813 million in missing compensation that National Treasury says was allocated, and which SANDF Chief of Joint Operations, Major General Abotsi, admitted in May was being “held onto” until the troops returned.

Instead of acting, Gigaba has blocked the committee from even discussing whether to summon the Minister and her generals. This follows Minister Motshekga’s continued evasion of scrutiny, including her refusal to commit to commercial flights instead of spending R415 million to maintain the President’s jet, even as our soldiers are left unpaid.

The excuse being peddled now, namely that “alignment issues” during recess prevent a meeting, is laughable. In January, the JSCD convened in person over the DRC fatalities. Virtual meetings are routine. What’s changed is not logistics, but the ANC’s desire to protect a Minister mired in financial scandal.

If the ANC truly believes in “openness and accountability”, then there is no obstacle to reconvening the JSCD immediately. The committee must act now to uncover the truth behind the missing R813 million, restore integrity to its oversight role, and ensure our troops receive the answers they deserve.

The DA calls on the JSCD Co-Chairpersons to stop obstructing Parliament’s work and urgently reconvene the committee to hold the Minister to account.

Regards

Nicholas Gotsell MP
DA NCOP Member on Security & Justice

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