Police services to get bulk of defence budget

Pretoria – Government’s budget for defence will increase over the next three years, up from R190bn to R225bn by 2019/20.

This is according to the National Budget delivered by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in Parliament on Wednesday.

According to the budget, the consolidated three-year budget for defence, public order and safety accounts for 14.2% of total expenditure, and is one of the functions of the National Development Plan (NDP).

“Spending will focus on fighting transnational crimes, improving policing, peace support operations and military health services,” the budget read.

Police services account for R87.5bn - 47.3% of the total allocation of R190bn for 2016/17. “Over the medium term, the South African Police Service will intensify its implementation of the Back to Basics strategy to improve police performance and conduct,” the budget read.

A total of R2.5bn will be allocated to the department to upgrade and maintain police stations, with a further R10.2bn to procure and maintain transport equipment, the Budget explained.

Defence and State security will be allocated R52.3bn in 2016/17; law courts and prisons will get R41.4bn and the Department of Home Affairs is allocated R8.7bn.

Over the medium term, R153m has been reprioritised from the police department to the home affairs department for the advanced passenger processing system. This system prevents individuals wanted by authorities, or who are prohibited from travelling internationally, from entering South Africa.

The Department of Defence plans to spend R3.3bn over the next three years to safeguard national borders. “Allocations of R4.1bn and R1.4bn support peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and anti-piracy operations in the Mozambique Channel respectively,” according to the budget.

Further, R951.6m has been reprioritised within the department to cover costs of essential medicine and medical supplies for South African National Defence Force members, their dependants and retired military personnel.   

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