The Democratic Alliance has criticised Chief of the South African Navy, Vice Admiral Monde Lobese, for his conduct in expressing concerns about the state of South African Navy.
DA spokesperson on defence, Christian Hattingh, said the party still believed that the warning should be taken seriously. He said the Navy’s lack of resources has created a dangerous gap along South Africa’s coastline.
Hattingh was responding to issues of budget cuts, the Navy’s prolonged absence at sea and the Admiral’s controversial remarks that those who cut the defence budget may be directly or indirectly influenced by criminal networks.
Shrinking budget unsustainable
“I’ve argued that the SANDF’s shrinking budget is unsustainable. In April 2025, the Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence warned Parliament that persistent under funding ‘threatens not only the country’s ability to defend its borders but also its international credibility and economic growth potential’. Defence spending has fallen from over 2% of GDP in 1996 to about 0.7 %,” said Hattingh.
He said the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCDMV) had already recommended increased funding for the Navy, to properly safeguard the 3, 934km coastline and 2 million square kilometre exclusive economic zone.
“Underfunding leaves a vacuum that organised crime can exploit,” said Hattingh.
“Inadequate funding restricts the SANDF’s capacity to acquire critical combat capabilities, modernise equipment, and respond effectively to internal and international obligations. Without ships at sea, our ability to monitor and interdict criminal activities is severely limited,” he added.
DA slams reckless claims
On Vice Admiral Lobese’s suggestion that budget cuts may be driven by people influenced by criminal networks, Hattingh dismissed the comments as inappropriate, disingenuous and unfortunate.
“Speaking for the DA, we reject the Admiral’s insinuation that budget decisions are driven by criminals.”
However, Hattingh said the Admiral was right to highlight weaknesses that criminals can exploit. He pointed to recent Hawks investigations into five major fraud and corruption cases within the Navy worth nearly R500-million, including tampered bid documents and substandard parts supplied to the Navy.
He said the Auditor General and the SIU have repeatedly warned that poor consequence management is allowing irregularities to continue, especially at Simon’s Town Dockyard.
No evidence of criminal elements
“In short, there is no evidence that criminals influence budget decisions. But weak governance and poor consequence management create vulnerabilities that organised criminals can exploit,” Hattingh said.
Hattingh said several immediate steps are needed to rebuild the Navy’s patrol capacity. These include pushing Cabinet and Treasury to reallocate funds. Also closing governance gaps that allow irregular expenditure, and tightening oversight of maintenance and procurement to bring ships back into service.
He also pushed for targeted procurement of patrol vessels and surveillance technology once additional funding is secured.
“These steps would help restore the Navy’s patrol capacity while addressing the governance failures that contributed to the crisis,” he said.
Department of Defence spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini, said Lobese’s comments cast aspersions at the government leadership.
“The minister regards these remarks not only as inappropriate, disingenuous and unfortunate on a matter he is fully aware that is receiving attention at all levels, starting from within the department to Parliament.
“The minister will be taking appropriate steps to deal with this unfortunate outburst. Worst still from a senior person at his level. The views expressed at the event do not reflect the official position of the department,” said Dlamini.
