Motshekga: SANDF spent R2.4bn on charter flights over five years as DA demands breakdown

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) spent R2,395,521,275 on chartered flights over five financial years, Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga told Parliament, prompting the Democratic Alliance (DA) to demand a detailed breakdown of the expenditure.

How much was spent and when

The department reported charter flight spending across the five financial years as follows:

• 2021/22: R15,492,850
• 2022/23: R753,797,591
• 2023/24: R622,790,063
• 2024/25: R629,043,694
• 2025/26: R374,937,076

Motshekga outlines reasons for charter use

Motshekga said chartered aircraft were used for a range of operational requirements, including accessing remote areas, medical evacuations, peacekeeping and regional missions, disaster relief, VIP transport, military training and urgent operational deployments. She also cited the non-availability of commercial flights and sensitive security movements for critical military operations.

The department said chartered flights were procured through several mechanisms: ordinary travel-management arrangements, supply chain management deviations, and emergency or operational procurement. It confirmed that it holds the underlying records for the flights.

DA demands fuller disclosure and reconciliation

The DA said two recent parliamentary replies had not provided the detailed information it requested, including the number of flights and expenditure for each financial year across procurement mechanisms, a breakdown by operational category, and the number of deviations exceeding R1 million, R5 million and R10 million.

DA spokesperson on Defence and Military Veterans Chris Hattingh criticised the department’s responses and urged clearer, verified figures. He said the outstanding information was needed to properly scrutinise the expenditure.

“Minister Motshekga cannot keep hiding behind bureaucratic excuses while R2.4 billion of public money goes unaccounted for. The people of South Africa deserve answers, not evasion,”

Hattingh said the department’s replies provided general explanations of procurement processes and operational requirements, but that the figures needed to establish how the money was spent remained outstanding. He also questioned why the reconciliation process did not have a completion date.

Discrepancy and next steps

The DA identified a R540,000 discrepancy between the annual figures and the department’s stated total and asked the minister to explain the difference.

“The Minister must explain the difference and provide verified figures,”

Hattingh said. He added that the replies did not establish how much was spent through procurement deviations or whether any particular expenditure was irregular.

The DA said it would submit further written questions seeking verified figures, a firm deadline for completing the reconciliation, and the identification of the official responsible for the process.

“The Minister must provide Parliament with a complete, accurate account of how this money was spent,”

Hattingh said.