Cape Town - The expensive Gripen fighter jets, frigates and
submarines which cost South African taxpayers billions of rands
will mainly be on the ground
and in port over the next three years, because
there's no money to operate them.
The DA has called this a disgrace, while the department of defence's
excuse is that its budget is
hopelessly inadequate.
According to the department's strategic plan for the next three years,
which was submitted to Parliament on Wednesday, their budgeting allows
for the following:
- That the Gripens will spend 550 hours in flight in the current
financial year, after which this will be scaled down to 250 flight hours
per year for the next two years; and
- That the navy's 18 ships will have 10 000 hours at sea in 2011-2012
and 9 000 hours at sea per year in 2012 and 2013.
Operational capabilities
DA MP David Maynier said at a meeting between the parliamentary
portfolio committee for defence and the department that it's clear "the
defence force is being stripped of its operational capabilities".
"Look at maritime defence: Taking into account what we have at our
disposal and the hours at sea which have been budgeted for, the navy's
ships will spend 23 days at sea and 328 days in port. Perhaps eight
ships - including the frigates at the submarines - would be more
realistic: That would mean they'd spend 55 days at sea and 299 in port.
"Concerning the air force: We have 11 Gripens and 550 flight hours
available this year, which means they are flying less than half of the
hours required to comply with Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation)
standards. Most of these hours will be used during the 2010 World Cup,
and between July and the end of
the financial year, these fighter jets will be standing in their hangars,"
he said.
"It gets worse in the following years: Once all 26 Gripens have been
delivered, they'll spend an average of
9.6 hours in flight per year."
Helmoed-Römer Heitman, a defence expert, described this budget as
ludicrous and said
if this is the way the navy and air force are run,
the defence force might as well shut its
doors.
According to him, Nato requires that fighter pilots log 20 flight hours
per month (240 flight hours per year per fighter pilot, compared to the
air force's budget of 550 flight hours) to remain operationally
functional.
Bought for show
"According to these standards our air force is only barely going to
be able to keep two fighter pilots in business.
"As far as our navy is concerned,
it is now clear that the frigates and submarines were only bought for
show." *1
Thabang Makwetla, deputy minister of defence, said it isn't the
department's fault and that the problem lies with the inadequate defence
budget.
According to Professor Renfrew Christie from the University of the
Western Cape, South Africa is currently spending about 1.2% of its gross
domestic product (GDP) on defence, compared to 4.5% in 1989.
The World Bank recommends that a functional defence force should be
allocated no less than 2% of the GDP.
- Die Burger
Related Links
With acknowledgements to
Pieter du Toit and
News24.
*1 Rubbish -
the Gripen jet fighters, Hawk jet trainers, Meko 200AS frigates and Type
209 submarines were bought before the ANC dreamt up tender
entrepreneurship.
They skimmed about R2 billion off the R30 billion (in 1998 Rands)
purchase in order fund their most conspicuous of consumptions.
With lifespan cost of ownership, these equipments are going to cost the
taxpayer around R500 billion over 30 years (in 2010 Rands).
R2 billion for R500 billion.
Of that our president got R1 million (in 2000 Rands) from the French.
But only R250 000, less the Reserve Bank's fee, actually got paid,
because the Scorpions were watching likes Hawks.
They are criminals.
The whole bunch of them.