South Africa’s Defence Force is in crisis — underfunded, under-resourced, and soldiers left vulnerable, even unpaid for their sacrifices in the DRC. Yet, shockingly, while the men and women in uniform are struggling, the Ministry of Defence has been living large. ActionSA has revealed that
since taking office, Minister Angie Motshekga and her deputies have blown over R20 million on travel alone — jetting off to Vietnam, Cuba, Malaysia, Japan and Turkey. The spending includes nearly R5 million on car hire, R5.6 million on domestic flights, and over R3 million on luxury accommodation. Add this to the R282 million the GNU has already spent on travel, and it paints a damning picture of
a government gorging itself on perks while the defence of our nation suffers. Tonight, we ask: can such expenses ever be justified when soldiers on the frontline are underpaid, and the SANDF is said to be limping along with a funding crisis?

South Africa&rsquo;s Defence Force is in crisis &mdash; underfunded,&nbsp;under-resourced, and soldiers left vulnerable, even unpaid&nbsp;for their sacrifices in the DRC. Yet, shockingly, while the&nbsp;men and women in uniform are struggling, the Ministry of&nbsp;Defence has been living large. ActionSA has revealed that since taking office, Minister Angie Motshekga and her&nbsp;deputies have blown over R20 million on travel alone &mdash;&nbsp;jetting off to Vietnam, Cuba, Malaysia, Japan and Turkey.&nbsp;The spending includes nearly R5 million on car hire, R5.6&nbsp;million on domestic flights, and over R3 million on luxury&nbsp;accommodation. Add this to the R282 million the GNU has&nbsp;already spent on travel, and it paints a damning picture of a government gorging itself on perks while the defence of&nbsp;our nation suffers. Tonight, we ask: can such expenses&nbsp;ever be justified when soldiers on the frontline are&nbsp;underpaid, and the SANDF is said to be limping along with&nbsp;a funding crisis?

METRO FM Talk with Faith Mangope