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Cabinet has come to its senses and cancelled the R47 billion that was to be spent on eight new military transport aircraft manufactured by Airbus.
Said government spokesman Themba Maseko: “The cost escalation would have placed an unaffordable burden on the taxpayer at a time when the national fiscus is under pressure due to the economic downturn.”
Well said.
Does this signal that the state is no longer prioritising the chauvinist assertion of regional military strength over the need to deliver basic housing and services to the poor?
From the statement it certainly seems unlikely that South Africa will be signing new arms deals of this size in the near future.

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Comments

 

Darren O

November 5, 2009 at 5:30 pm

I don’t think so. The money for the A400M acquisition was to have been allocated from within the Special Defence Account, itself part of the defence budget, which is why Defence Minister Sisulu has asked for the R2.9 billion already paid to be refunded back to the SANDF.

While the A400M acquisition has been cancelled, the SAAF’s need for serious airlift capability remains an urgent requirement. It’s quite likely that at least some of the money saved from cancelling the A400M deal will go towards alternative airlift options for the SAAF, perhaps including an acquisition of C-130Js.

Other portions of the freed up funds will be re-allocated to acquisitions awaiting funding in the SANDF’s Strategic Capital Acquisition Master Plan (SCAMP), such as the new offshore patrol vessels for the SA Navy (Project Biro), the SA Army’s procurement of trucks (Vistula) and armoured personnel carriers (Sepula) and the proposed acquisition of a new amphibious warfare helicopter carrier (Millennium), amongst others.

I do not see the SANDF’s budget decreasing by any significant amount over the coming years and, as these acquisitions form a part of the budget, I think it’s fair to say there are a good number of additional ‘arms deals’ in our future. I doubt we’ll ever see another combined deal the size of the 1998 Strategic Defence Package, but the SANDF will require ongoing acquisitions for the foreseeable future if it’s to meet the mandate that we, the voters, have given it.

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