S. Africa allocates more money for peacekeeping in Africa
South Africa's peacekeeping missions in Africa got boosted on Tuesday as the government announced more money would be put in operations in coming years.
The Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), which was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, said that Defense and Intelligence's revised estimate for the 2005/06 financial year is 25.4 billion rand (3.85 billion US dollars), and will increase to 29.1 billion rand (4.41 billion dollars) by the 2008/09 financial year.
A large contingent of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) troops, often operating under the United Nations or African Union banner, are deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire and other African countries.
Troops on the ground, however, have expressed concern over stretched supply lines and shortages of key equipment considered vital in carrying out their operations in areas often devoid of basic infrastructure.
"Plans to modernize and improve the combat readiness of the SANDF to fulfill its constitutional mandate will be strengthened by additional allocations in the 2006 MTEF (Medium-Term Expenditure Framework)," the MTBPS said.
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25 Octobre 2005 à 14:09 dans
- zsandf (anglais)
