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Recent reports have revealed a shocking reality: only 27% of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is healthy enough to deploy, while the health status of 36% of soldiers remains unknown.

Commanders have failed to enforce mandatory health assessments, young recruits are too few to bolster readiness, and budget constraints mean the SANDF cannot even fully fund its 70 000-strong force.

This is a direct threat to the safety and effectiveness of our military.

At the same time, the joint standing committee on defence in parliament was presented with a bare-bones, three-slide briefing on the upcoming rotation of South African troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Committee members were denied crucial details on troop readiness, logistical support, and medical preparedness. This comes after the disastrous SAMIDRC deployment earlier this year, where poor planning and inadequate support compromised the safety of our troops.

The DA is unequivocal: under current conditions, there is absolutely no justification for sending South African soldiers to the DRC. Our armed forces are in decline, and the risks are too high to ignore.

The combination of a sickly, under-resourced force and inadequate planning is a recipe for failure, and potentially for tragedy.

This is a systemic problem that goes beyond any single deployment. The SANDF requires a full defence review but also a full implementation of the 2015 Defence Review, which calls for sustained and layered military health support, assessing personnel health, logistical capabilities, training, and funding.

South Africa cannot continue to gamble with the lives of its young men and women in uniform while the military is left in this state of decline.

Issued by Chris Hattingh MP - DA Spokesperson on Defence and Military Veterans