South Africa's defence budget up 15%
Date: 22 February 2002
South Africa is boosting its defence budget by 15 percent for the next financial year. The budget is being increased by R2.4 billion (US210 million) to R18.4 billion (US1.6 billion) to pay for the SANDF's arms acquisition programme and its "regional peacekeeping commitments."
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said defence spending would increase to around R18.4 billion for the year beginning April 1 ð up from about R16 billion (US1.4 billion) for the present year. Presenting his annual budget to the National Assembly on Wednesday, Manuel said the rise brought total defence spending to 1.7 percent of GDP in 2002/03, compared to 3.7 percent a decade ago and 1.5 percent in 1997/98.
He said the SANDF was involved in diverse activities, including operations to combat crime, patrolling the country's borders and rural areas, and fulfilling international obligations in providing peace support in the DR Congo, Burundi, and the Horn of Africa. "Increases in the defence vote will provide for the higher costs of the strategic defence procurement programme due to revised exchange rate projections," he said. "Provision (R130-million/US11,3-million) is also made for the protection mission to Burundi, the costs of which will partly be recovered from international donors."
Of the R18.4-billion allocated to defence out of a total budget of R287.9 billion (US25.2 billion), the SA Army gets about R3.4 billion (US297 million), the SA Air Force R2 billion (US175 million), the SA Navy R979 million (US85.8 million) and the SA Military Health Service R1.14 billion. Defence Intelligence receives R149 million (US99.9 million).
Personnel-related costs will take up an average of 33.4% of the vote over the next three years, while current transfer payments, including the arms procurement programme, are projected to consume an average of 44.2% of the vote over the same period.
Military analysts have welcomed the increase, saying it was necessary to re-equip the SANDF and prepare it for peacekeeping elsewhere on the continent. The only criticism against the budget came from the disarmament lobby group, The Ceasefire Campaign, and the anti-arms procurement Economists Allied for Arms Reduction.
Defence Systems Daily
