Anyone who might have the desire—or interest—in invading South Africa should take notice that now is the ideal time for such a venture. According to the latest official figures released by the South African Parliamentary Subcommittee on Security and Justice, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is at an all-time operational low.
According to that subcommittee:
– Only 2 of the air force’s fleet of 26 Swedish-supplied Saab JAS 39 Gripen C/D variant aircraft are operational.
– None of its C-130BZ Hercules air transporters are airworthy.
– Only one frigate of its navy is operational.
– Only one MMIPV (multi-mission inshore patrol vessel) is operational.
– None of its 3 Heroine Class Type 209 submarines are operational, all having had “accidents” of one sort or another.
Despite all these failings, fully 68% of the SANDF budget is spent on salaries and wages, the subcommittee added. (Source: “SANDF fleet at ‘all-time low’ as the military ‘sits helpless’,” defenceWeb, 19th November 2024).
South Africa has been on a steady decline on all fronts since the ANC first came to power in 1994. Among the major state-owned enterprises that have either closed down, faced bankruptcy, or needed substantial government bailouts to keep operating are the following:
-South African Airways (SAA), declared bankrupt in 2019;
-state electricity supply company Eskom, declared bankrupt in 2019;
-Denel, the state arms manufacturer, declared bankrupt in 2004;
-the South African Post Office (SAPO)—the oldest post office in Africa, founded in 1792—declared bankruptcy in 2023;
-state transportation company Transnet, which runs all the ports and railways in South Africa, needed a R47 billion (approximately $2.5 billion) bailout in 2023 to prevent bankruptcy; and
-the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), which has lost 20% of the entire railway network of South Africa to “theft and vandalism” since 1994.