By Akani Nkuna
President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Saturday that additional budget resources had been allocated to help close funding gaps in the armed forces, as the military adapts to battlefields increasingly shaped by drones, digital warfare and artificial intelligence.
Speaking at Armed Forces Day commemorations in Vhembe District in Thohoyandou, Limpopo, Ramaphosa said: “There has been a shift on the battlefield from traditional weaponry to high-tech autonomous and unmanned systems such as drones, digital warfare and the use of artificial intelligence,” which required “a SANDF that is responsive, relevant and agile”.
“Our military is having to adapt at a time when public resources are constrained,” he said. “Given the critical importance of the SANDF to our security, sovereignty and development, additional resources have been allocated from the budget.”
The Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans has said that ongoing budget constraints risk further decline in the Department of Defence’s capabilities and performance, and that reduced funding is affecting combat capabilities, particularly the lack of maintenance of its mission equipment.
Ramaphosa did not put a number to the funding, but said it was “a targeted intervention to close funding gaps, improve efficiencies and ensure our operational ambitions are matched by our resources”.
He also reiterated that South Africa would draw down its participation in the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), saying the withdrawal would be “done in a phased and well-orchestrated manner to ensure the safe return of our troops and their equipment”.
“As we withdraw, we pledge our continued support to continental peace and security initiatives under the UN, the African Union and SADC,” he said.
Ramaphosa reaffirmed South Africa’s non-aligned foreign policy amid what he described as an era of “great geopolitical tension”.
“South Africa remains steadfast in our policy of non-alignment. We refuse to be drawn into the spheres of influence of competing global powers,” he said.
“We assert our strategic autonomy and sovereignty. And we conduct all our operations under strict civilian oversight and in absolute adherence to international humanitarian law.”
Speaking about the deployment of SANDF troops to support police as announced in his State of the Nation Address, he said this was a “targeted offensive against brazen criminality, illegal mining and ruthless gangs”.
“From the Cape Flats to Gauteng, our message is clear: the rule of law will be enforced and the safety of our citizens will be secured,” he said.
“This deployment is a shield for the vulnerable, so that a child in Nyanga, Eldorado Park or New Brighton can walk to school without the shadow of a bullet haunting their steps.”
During Armed Forces Day outreach activities, Ramaphosa said the South African Military Health Service’s Project Owethu had provided health services to rural communities in Sekhukhune, Waterberg and Vhembe Districts, including more than 85 cataract procedures at Elim Hospital over the past week.
Marking the annual commemoration of the sinking of the SS Mendi on 21 February 1917, Ramaphosa paid tribute to soldiers who died in service and urged young South Africans to consider military careers.
“To the young people present here today and watching across the country: I invite you to see the SANDF as a career and as a calling,” he said. “We need your capabilities in engineering, medicine, technology, strategy and many other disciplines.”
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