Defence spending up to R25.9bn
Date: 21 February 2008
The defence department's budget has risen to R25.9bn to meet the rising cost of peacekeeping operations, skills-development programmes and the military's need to beef up its airlift capacity.
Tabling his 2007/08 budget in parliament on Wednesday, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said the SA National Defence Force had "assisted significantly" in helping reduce a number of African conflicts.
The 2007/08 Budget allocation is R2bn up on the previous year, and forecast to rise to R28.6bn by 2009/10.
Manuel said the SANDF had to be beefed up.
"We now have peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Sudan and the Ivory Coast.
"The SA National Defence Force receives additional allocations to acquire airlift capacity, for exchange rate adjustments to the strategic defence package and for the military skills development programme... ," he said.
According to the 2007 Budget review document, the SANDF will spend R2.8bn of its budget on African peacekeeping operations.
Future missions also included offering support during elections in, among other countries, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Senegal.
Source: Fin24
