Statement by Chris Hattingh MP – DA Spokesperson on Defence and Military Veterans:
The Minister of Defence must urgently explain how many weapons and strategic assets have been stolen, who has been held accountable, and what immediate recovery plan exists to restore security.
The Democratic Alliance is deeply alarmed by the growing pattern of theft, sabotage and criminal infiltration at South African military bases, including Tek Base, the Mobile Deployment Wing at Swartkop, Wahlmansthal and Simon’s Town Naval Base.
Under the Defence Act of 2002, the Minister has a statutory duty to keep Parliament informed of these security breaches via the Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD), should the Minister fail to do so, she would be actively violating a binding legal obligation.
This is no longer ordinary theft. It is a national security failure.
After the theft of R4 rifles and grenade launchers at Tek Base in Centurion, thieves targeted Swartkop, attempting to steal high-value communications cables and generators linked to critical radar systems that support Air Force command operations, including flight monitoring at the highest level.
Reports indicate these cables are repeatedly targeted because they contain copper, while power cables are also stolen regularly.
At Wahlmansthal, the main electrical cable was reportedly dug up and stolen from within the security perimeter itself. This is particularly alarming because it shows criminals operating inside supposedly secured military zones without effective prevention or immediate response.
At the Swartkop Airforce base, repeated theft and vandalism have destroyed substations and electricity infrastructure. In a parliamentary reply, the Minister confirmed that the Air Force Mobile Deployment Wing Central has no Eskom electricity and relies on eleven mobile generators, consuming between 12 000 and 16 900 litres of diesel per month at a cost of up to R334 958 monthly.
Taxpayers are now funding diesel because the state cannot protect its own military infrastructure.
There are also serious concerns that this is not random theft, but organised criminal activity involving possible insider collaboration by workers and contractors.
Across the SANDF, the same pattern is clear: collapsing perimeter security, failing infrastructure, internal compromise and no visible accountability.
A defence force that cannot secure its own bases cannot credibly secure the Republic.
South Africa cannot afford a military where ammunition depots are looted, radar systems are stripped for copper, and criminal syndicates operate behind the fence line.
The DA will continue to demand accountability until security, discipline and command responsibility are restored.
