The defence ministry says the defence force can defend the country against invasion, despite financial challenges. Minister Angie Motshekga also suggested that older government staff be let go for early retirement to help cut costs.

Giving a sobering account of her department’s financial state, Motshekga said, “The defunding has affected us badly, we are really in a difficult situation in many respects. We are looking at measures as to how to compensate, because we just can’t complain and keep on spending: there are measures government had put in place in terms of early retirement to make sure that we can release older staff, who are highly paid, and introduce a rejuvenating programme to be able to create space. It has worked in education” she said, calling for the recruitment of younger staff.

Motshekga said it was not only a human resources issue. “The underfunding has not only affected us in terms of HR, it has affected us in many areas, such as where we can’t service our equipment. This means, for instance, in the air force, instead of flying maybe six planes we have four working.”

Her department is in talks with the National Treasury regarding the financial shortfall. It was allocated R55bn in October for the 2024/25 financial year.

Despite the financial woes, the minister assured parliament that the SANDF has the capability to defend the country. “I have no doubt that while we may not have everything we need, we have enough capabilities to defend ourselves.

“The money that I always say we run short of is not even to go fight outside, there’s not even one mission [outside the country] that I got a report that we didn’t have the resources we needed. Where we need it is here at home” she told parliament on Tuesday.

Lt-Gen Michael Ramantswana, SANDF's chief of staff , also expressed confidence in the country's defence capabilities. “We have the ability to withstand any incursion into South Africa,” he claimed.

However, members of the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) were less optimistic, with chair Songezo Zibi questioning the SANDF’s readiness. “Looking at the data before us, we really should say that [we can’t respond to a threat]. With respect, general and minister, the correct answer to this question is no.”

Other committee members also expressed doubts and criticised the deployment strategies, questioning whether officials had fully grasped the scale of the military's challenges.