Questions are mounting over nearly R2.4 billion spent by the South African National Defence Force on chartered aircraft over five financial years.
eNCA reports that the Democratic Alliance has questioned the expenditure after Defence Minister Angie Motshekga did not provide Parliament with the detailed flight and procurement breakdown it requested.
SABC News reports that Motshekga confirmed in a parliamentary reply that the SANDF spent just under R2.4 billion on private charter flights during the period.
Why the SANDF used charter flights
According to Motshekga’s parliamentary reply, chartered aircraft were used when commercial flights were not practical or available.
The purposes included access to remote areas, medical evacuations, peacekeeping and regional missions, disaster relief, VIP transport, military training and urgent operational deployments. Sensitive security movements were also cited.
The DA says it asked for the annual number of flights, spending by procurement method and operational category, as well as information on procurement deviations above R1 million, R5 million and R10 million.
R540,000 difference questioned
The party has also flagged what it says is a R540,000 discrepancy in the department’s figures.
According to the DA, the five annual amounts supplied total R2,396,061,275, while the department’s stated overall total is R2,395,521,275.
The Department of Defence said its records were being reconciled to ensure expenditure was attributed correctly and to prevent flights serving multiple purposes from being counted more than once.
The available information does not establish that any of the charter spending was irregular.
Financial oversight under pressure
Defence analyst Ricardo Teixeira told eNCA that basic record-keeping and financial accountability were central to the questions being raised.
The concerns come as the SANDF faces wider funding pressures. Parliament said earlier this year that the department’s financial position requires stronger oversight and noted more than R10.1 billion in irregular expenditure accumulated between 2018/19 and 2022/23.
Motshekga has said the Defence Department received a R57.6 billion allocation for 2026/27 and acknowledged governance and business-system challenges within the department.
The DA says it plans to submit further parliamentary questions seeking verified figures and a deadline for the outstanding information.