The Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans said on Thursday a strong defence force is critical for a safe environment that encourages investor confidence, noting the ongoing reductions in funding for the department.

Committee chairperson Dakota Legoete warned that less funding posed a “significant threat to the security and stability of the country” and undermined Section 200 of the Constitution which mandates the defence of the country.

He warned that while underfunding was a major concern, the defence force must also use the funds it received responsibly, a factor, which he said was undermined by increased irregular expenditure in the department.

He said the committee also engaged the Office of the Auditor General on financial and non-financial performance of the department and entities that included Armscor and the Castle Control Board for 2023/24.

National Treasury expressed concerns about the financial strain caused by prolonged and open-ended peacekeeping missions, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and increased domestic deployment requirements.

“It further said since 2017/18, defence has received additional funding amounting to R13-billion and that defence was accommodated in the adjustments budget and the normal medium term expenditure framework processes,” said Legoete.

National Treasury said the Department of Defence had been allocated R4-billion over the next three years to conduct border security activities, with a focus on acquiring border safeguarding technology as force multipliers.

However, National Treasury told the committee that the challenges facing the department were not budget-related, but rather stemmed from crippling inefficiencies and underspending.

Legoete pointed out that the defence department was one of the departments with the highest underspending, reaching R260-million in 2023/24.

“The National Treasury said contributing factors to underspending at the Department of Military Veterans were owing to the late promulgation of the military veteran’s pension benefits regulations, however, the underspending trends are worsening, and this could affect future budget allocations,” he said.

The committee intends to meet with the Standing Committee on Appropriations to look at how the department can be assisted with funding constraints.

Legoete questioned the failure of the department to maintain a healthy and reliable database of its members, saying the defence department must engage the Department of Social Development and South African Social Security Agency to prevent military veterans from double dipping on social assistance services.