The South African defence industry is “at a critical crossroads”, says Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

Speaking at the fourth iteration of the Aerospace, Maritime and Defence (AMD) Conference, in Pretoria, on Tuesday, she said this was as a result of the many challenges facing the industry, including a reduced defence force budget.

Further, reduced spending on research and development, which Mapisa-Nqakula said is a “critical enabler for future capabilities and competitiveness”, also impacts negatively on the industry.

In addition, the Minister pointed out that an increase in market competition has resulted in reduced market access, as well as an erosion of capabilities, as some South African engineers have migrated to serve the defence and industrial aspirations of other nations.

These challenges are likely to be further exacerbated by the fact that the country has entered into a technical recession, the Minister stated, adding that meaningful and impactful interventions needed to be found to help resolve these challenges.

Mapisa-Nqakula pointed out that the defence industry will need to “better manage [its] resources and processes to optimally ensure localisation, industrialisation and the retention of capabilities within the [industry]”, adding that full government support is required to make these endeavours successful.

To further assist the industry, the Minister told delegates that the Department of Defence has compiled a South African Defence Industry strategy, which is in the process of being finalised, and is expected to be adopted before the end of this year.

Implementation, she said, will follow soon thereafter.

In addition to this, the Armaments Corporation of South Africa, or Armscor, and the AMD have overseen the development of an industry-wide broad-based black economic empowerment charter, as well as the creation of the South African Industry Fund.

Both initiatives, Mapisa-Nqakula averred, are in the final stages of being gazetted.

She also encouraged the industry to highlight measures that it believes the government will need to consider implementing to improve industry support.

She further reassured delegates that the South African government is aware of the key contribution of exports to the economy, as well as the ensured continued existence of the defence industry.

To this end, Mapisa-Nqakula said the department “remains committed to providing the industry with the necessary political support in all of its future export endeavours”.

A downside to this, she highlighted, is a lack of follow-through from industry members and companies when participating in bilateral engagements, which subjects South Africa to criticism and “tarnishes the image of the country’s capability in this industry”.

To resolve this, Mapisa-Nqakula called on industry members to follow up with bilateral engagements, while also focussing on problem solving, particularly for faulty products.

Notwithstanding these areas of concern, the government remains committed to continue working with industry members and other departments to ensure a government-wide approach to providing support to the defence industry.

“Associated with this is the need for us to improve the performance and intricacy of the Arms Control Authority to ensure that our interactions with them are not characterised by delays and inexplicable lapses that compromise [industry’s] ability to competitively export out of South Africa,” Mapisa-Nqakula elaborated.