South Africa’s retreat from the DRC: How budget cuts crippled our troops

Outgunned, outmanoeuvred, out of luck, and out of the Congo — a condensed version of South Africa’s latest military misadventure

To be clear, the ignominious withdrawal — sorry, peace agreement — has nothing to do with the calibre of the South African troops, who have been fighting with one hand, and sometimes both, behind their backs.

Fallen troops: General Rudzani Maphwanya honours
the return of SANDF soldiers’ remains from their
mission in the DRC Gallo Images/Frennie Shivambu — Fallen troops: General Rudzani Maphwanya honours the return of SANDF soldiers’ remains from their mission in the DRC Gallo Images/Frennie Shivambu

Need a gunship to provide top cover? Sorry, there’s no money in the pot to keep the Rooivalks battle-ready. Pretty sure the money would have been found most ricky-tick if anyone important had been hunkered down in Goma while M23 rebels lobbed mortar rounds at them with impunity.

Sending troops to make peace in one of the toughest neighbourhoods in Africa without air support was never going to end well. In the early days, when the peacekeepers could count on a single Rooivalk gunship overhead, M23 were the ones doing the melting away.

With military expeditions to faraway lands, it’s the supply chain that matters most, along with the quality of the supplies

It’s not just about gunships, though. With military expeditions to faraway lands, it’s the supply chain that matters most, along with the quality of the supplies. But the gouging cuts to the country’s defence budget make the US “department of government efficiency” look prudish and temperate by comparison.

Because there was no money for the new Airbus heavy-lift transport aircraft, the army depends on third-party civilian operators flying Russian-built “vodka burners” to carry everything it needs to and from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Such long supply lines into hostile lands are a fast track to military disappointment and humiliation.

The humiliation, however, will be most keenly felt by our troops as they travel, by road, through M23-backing Rwanda to a staging base in Tanzania. Some will fly home from there, while their equipment returns by sea. Since the navy supply vessel SAS Drakensberg is (still) out of commission, the vehicles, artillery and impedimenta of battle will come home ... on a rented ship.