Department of Defence - state within a state?

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is concerned that Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Lindiwe Sisulu, is resisting being properly accountable to Parliament.

The Department of Defence cannot be allowed to become a "state within a state" like the previous military establishment.

The Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans is required by the Constitution to scrutinise and oversee the Department of Defence.

But this is almost impossible to do given the fact that:-

• three and a half months after being appointed the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Lindiwe Sisulu and Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Thabang Makwetla have not appeared before the portfolio committee;

• the Chief of the South African National Defence Force, General Godfrey Ngwenya, and the chiefs of the various services have also not appeared before the portfolio committee;

• every substantive briefing on the defence force, military veterans and defence industry to the portfolio committee has been postponed by the department of defence. The briefing on the state of combat readiness of the South African Army and South African Air Force, scheduled for 11 August 2009, was postponed. The briefing on the state of combat readiness of the South African Navy and South African Military Health Service, scheduled for 12 August 2009, was postponed. And the briefing on the state of readiness of the South African defence related industry, scheduled for 19 August 2009, was postponed; and

• rather than providing comprehensive answers to parliamentary questions within the required ten days, the minister provides non-replies. Of the 26 replies to parliamentry questions, 8 questions were comprehensively answered, 5 questions were partially answered and 13 questions were simply not answered. The non-replies from the department of defence simply stated that "As soon as I receive the reply information, the reply will be forwarded to Parliament". This is a cynical old trick often used to dodge replies to parliamentary questions since the "non replies" are recorded as "replies" by the questions office in Parliament.
  The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Lindiwe Sisulu, and the department of defence should not be allowed to ride rough shod over Parliament.

The DA will take up this matter with Mnyamezeli Booi, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, and appeal to him to compel the department of defence to put in place a comprehensive programme of briefings on the defence force, military veterans and the defence industry so that they can be properly held to account by Parliament.

Statement issued by David Maynier, MP, Democratic Alliance shadow minister of defence and military veterans, August 26 2009

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