Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

The security of the 2010 Fifa World Cup soccer tournament could be seriously jeopardised if the SANDF does not get a budget for the role it is expected to play during the competition.

This startling revelation was made by the defence force’s chief of joint operations, Lieutenant-General Themba Matanzima, during a media briefing in Thaba Tshwane, Pretoria, yesterday .

The briefing was held to highlight the role and functions of the Joint Operations Division, the status of external and internal SANDF deployments.

“At the moment we do not have a budget for the 2010 World Cup soccer,” Matanzima said.

The defence force is seeking an estimated R350 million for its contingency planning budget to help it secure the tournament.

It is not known why the defence force has not been allocated a budget, the majority of which is believed to be earmarked for specialised equipment and logistics needed to carry out operations.

There is a R6 billion contingency reserve. But this is believed to be earmarked for the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) with Trevor Manuel proposing that participating departments try to exceed their targets for creating EPWP jobs over the period ahead.

The SANDF is expected to protect the country’s skies and coastline, assist the police when necessary when it comes to crowd management and man joint operation control centres (Jocs).

Matanzima said the SANDF was involved in urgent discussions with government to secure the desperately needed funds.

Matanzima said while the police had got their budget, the SANDF was still waiting.

He added that while they were confident a budget would be allocated, there were alternatives should they not get the necessary funding. “We have a Plan B but I cannot discuss it,” he said.

Joint Operations Division’s chief director of operations, Rear-Admiral Phillip Schoultz, said: “Of the R350 million, R95 million will be for Confederations Cup and events leading to the 2010 tournament. The remaining money is for the 2010 tournament.” He stressed that the R350 million was not the operational budget.

“As intelligence becomes available we will develop operational plans for specific events which could see the actual expenditure drop dramatically,” Schoultz added.