Note to Editors: Please find soundbite by Nicholas Gotsell MP.
The Democratic Alliance rejects, with contempt, the South African National Defence Force’s (SANDF) claim that its deployment to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was a success. This is a delusional attempt to mask what was, by every measurable standard, a catastrophic failure of the ANC’s regional ambitions – both strategically and morally.
The DA looks forward to the scheduled meeting of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence this Friday, where the Minister of Defence is expected to brief Parliament on the withdrawal from SAMIDRC (South African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo). We will use this opportunity to ask pointed questions about the SANDF’s misleading public claims and demand clarity on the financial discrepancies that have yet to be explained to the people of South Africa.
The SANDF failed to halt the advance of M23 rebels, with key towns falling into rebel hands even as South African troops were deployed. The mission ended in a disorganised withdrawal, with troops reportedly seeking refuge at UN bases and being escorted out of the DRC by Rwandan forces. If that is their definition of “success,” then the bar is not very high.
The death of 14 South African soldiers and a further 174 injured in battle – brave men and women sent into an unstable conflict zone without air support, adequate equipment, or a coherent operational mandate – is not a success story. It is a national tragedy. Their blood is on Minister Motshekga’s hands. Whilst the returning troops make their way back to South Africa, the Minister continues to spin political fairy tales instead of reckoning with the facts.
Making this worse is a financial insult to the troops. While the South African Development Community (SADC) allocated R108,000 per soldier per month over the period of deployment, South African troops reportedly only received R32,000 per month – with no explanation of where the remaining R76,000 per soldier went. Tanzanian and Malawian troops on the same mission are said to have earned nearly double.
The DA will seek answers and ensure accountability.