Defence Minister Angie Motshekga has warned that South Africa’s military faces a widening gap between rising security demands and limited funding, saying the SANDF remains central to sovereignty and stability.
Defence Minister Angie Motshekga has warned that South Africa risks weakening its military capability and undermining national security if funding and structural challenges facing the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) are not urgently addressed.
She said the country is facing a widening gap between its defence commitments and available resources.
Delivering the Department of Defence’s 2026/27 Budget Vote in Parliament on Wednesday, Motshekga said the SANDF remained central to protecting South Africa’s sovereignty, constitutional order, and internal stability, but was increasingly being stretched by rising operational demands and long-standing financial pressures.
“The SANDF remains essential to sovereignty, central to internal stability and critical to the Republic’s regional and global obligations,” Motshekga said.
