EFF MP Carl Niehaus has accused Defence Minister Angie Motshekga and the ANC of shielding chronic mismanagement within the Department of Defence and the Department of Military Veterans, warning that declining performance, financial overspending and governance failures are undermining national security and failing military veterans.
As I rose in the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans today, 24 June 2026, I could not escape the feeling that some of my honourable colleagues had not engaged with the same deeply troubling reports we received from the Department of Defence and the Department of Military Veterans.
The Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 2025/26 performance and expenditure presentations painted a picture of two institutions in serious crisis and accelerating decline.
They are consuming vast resources while delivering progressively worse outcomes. This is not a matter for polite praise-singing. It is a matter of national security and honouring those who served.
The Department of Defence spent R62.329 billion — R3.257 billion over its adjusted budget of R59.072 billion. This unauthorised expenditure was driven almost entirely by a R3.696 billion Compensation of Employees overspend and R2.128 billion in excessive Reserve Force man-days. National Treasury has repeatedly instructed the Department to contain personnel costs and implement proper rejuvenation of the force.
