Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbite by Chris Hattingh MP. Parliamentary replies here and here.
– R2.4 billion spent over five years
– Minister still withholding detailed breakdown
– DA demands verified figures and deadline
The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga, has again failed to provide the detailed breakdown requested by the Democratic Alliance of approximately R2.4 billion spent on SANDF chartered flights over five financial years.
In two fresh parliamentary replies, the Minister confirms that the Department holds the underlying records but provides neither the requested figures nor a deadline for supplying them.
The DA asked for annual flight numbers and expenditure across ordinary travel-management arrangements, supply chain management deviations, and emergency or operational procurement. We also requested flight numbers and expenditure by operational category, together with the number of deviations exceeding R1 million, R5 million and R10 million. Minister Motshekga cannot keep hiding behind bureaucratic excuses while R2.4 billion of public money goes unaccounted for. The people of South Africa deserve answers, not evasion.
The replies provide general explanations of procurement processes and operational requirements. The figures needed to scrutinise that spending remain outstanding.
There is also a R540,000 discrepancy in the Department’s figures. The five annual amounts listed in the reply add up to R2,396,061,275, while the stated total is R2,395,521,275. The Minister must explain the difference and provide verified figures. Either the Department is sloppy with public money, or it is deliberately obscuring the truth. Neither is acceptable
The Department says it is reconciling its records to ensure accurate attribution and avoid double counting. That work must have a completion date. Parliament cannot scrutinise this expenditure while the requested breakdown remains indefinitely outstanding.
The reported total covers chartered flights procured through several mechanisms. The replies do not establish how much was spent through deviations or whether any particular expenditure was irregular. Providing the records is essential to answering those questions.
The DA will submit further written questions seeking verified expenditure figures, a firm deadline for the outstanding breakdowns, and identification of the official responsible for completing the reconciliation.
The Minister must provide Parliament with a complete, accurate account of how this money was spent.