South African National Defence Force

In 1994, the SANDF took over the personnel and equipment from the SADF and integrated forces from the former Bantustan homelands forces,[5]^: 5 as well as personnel from the former guerrilla forces of some of the political parties involved in South Africa, such as the African National Congress's Umkhonto we Sizwe, the Pan Africanist Congress's Azanian People's Liberation Army and the Self-Protection Units of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). The Azanian People's Organization' s AZANLA was invited but refused to be integrated and to this day remains the only guerrilla force not integrated into the current force.[3]

As of 2004, the integration process was considered complete, with retaining personnel, structure, and equipment from the SADF. However, due to integration problems, financial constraints, and other issues, the SANDF faced capability constraints.[6]

The South African Commando System was a civil militia active until 2008, based upon local units from the size of company to battalion.[7] In its final years its role was to support the South African Police Service during internal operations. During such deployments the units came under SAPS control.

In 1999, a R30 billion (US$4.8 billion) purchase of weaponry by the South African Government was finalised, which has been subject to allegations of corruption.[8][9] The South African Department of Defence's Strategic Defence Acquisition purchased frigates, submarines, light utility helicopters, lead-in fighter trainer and multirole combat aircraft.[10]

State capture (2011/12 to 2017) had a debilitating effect on Denel and consequently the country's defence capability.[11][12][13] In 2014 some 62% of its facilities and housing were deemed to be in unacceptable condition, of which 4% were hazardous, another 2% fit to be demolished, and some occupied by squatters. This contributed to low soldier morale and poor discipline.[14] Equipment became largely obsolete due to inadequate maintenance, while renewal stalled with devastating effect on the defence industry. According to the Department of Defence's 2014 Defence Review, the SANDF was "in a critical state of decline".[15] A series of cuts to its capital and operating budgets compromised a number of capabilities.[16]

In 2017 and 2021 respectively, 83[17] and some 200 to 500 out-of-service military vehicles were destroyed in fires at the Wallmansthal vehicle depot,[18] and a spokesperson was not available to liaise with the press.[19] Notwithstanding, it was reported to parliament in 2022, that technical skills gained from personnel of the Cuban RAF facilitated the preservation and maintenance of over 600,000 infantry weapons.[20] Their mechanical and vehicular skills allowed for the inspection, repair, refurbishment and/or de-activation of vehicles in the special forces and the four arms of service fleets, besides the implementation of stock control and technical support measures, and the rehabilitation of army workshops and work stations.

After submissions to parliament by Armscor, earlier in 2022, a spokesman for the official opposition, the DA, stated that the country's defence capability had been weakened to the extent that it was unprepared for a serious security challenge.[11] The Navy and Air Force were highlighted as easy targets, as only one of the four frigates were serviceable, and none of the submarines, while only 46 of 217 fixed-wing aircraft were serviceable, and only 27 of 87 helicopters. Budget and hardware constraints also compromised flight training and exercises, besides the retention of experienced pilots and personnel.[12] The defence minister's appointment of an Air Force chief, Wiseman Mbambo, who cannot fly a plane and doesn't have a pilot's licence was also criticized.[21] The SANDF had only 14 infantry battalions consisting of 12,000 soldiers in aggregate, of which five were deployed in peacekeeping and border patrol, leaving only nine to serve as home or rapid response units.[22]

In February 2022 the power supply to its Navy headquarters in Pretoria was disconnected when its municipal taxes were in arrears to the amount of R3.2 million.[23] During the same month Sandu threatened with legal action if the dilapidated Air Force headquarters building in Pretoria is not repaired to facilitate acceptable working conditions.[24] In March 2022 the SANDF and Navy were locked out of several office buildings in Pretoria due to rent defaults by the Department of Public Works.[25] 63% of the 2022/23 defence budget was allocated to employee compensation.[22]

A SANDF helicopter being refuelled during the annual game census

As of 2012, the SANDF was involved in several internal operations, including:[26]

• Safeguarding the Border (Operation CORONA)
• Disaster relief and assistance (Operation CHARIOT)
• Safety and security (Operation PROSPER)
• Ridding the country of illegal weapons, drug dens, prostitution rings and other illegal activities (Operation FIELA)

In 2021, SANDF forces were deployed in response to the civil unrest following the jailing on corruption charges of former president Jacob Zuma. By 14 July, over 25,000 troops had been deployed.[27] The largest single deployment of the South African National Defence Force since 1994.[28]

The SANDF partakes in UN peacekeeping missions, mostly on the African continent. As part of the SADC standby force it partakes in peace missions in the DRC and northern Mozambique.[22] It also provides foreign election security when needed.

The SANDF publishes (or provides links) to documents describing its strategy, plans, performance, white papers and related government acts. Under the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2000 (PAIA), the SANDF also provides access to current and historical information the SANDF holds and provides a manual[33] with procedures for obtaining access. Some categories of records are "automatically available" that are "available without a person having to request access in terms of the PAIA. These records can be accessed at the Department of Defence Archives and include operational records of the 1st World War, 2nd World War, Korean War, and establishment of the Union Defence Force 1912.