SANDF audit reveals only 27% of soldiers fit for duty

SK

Sara-Jayne Makwala King

9 December 2025 | 5:43

With most troops now undeployable, experts warn the defence force is collapsing under poor leadership, weak logistics and years of underfunding.

SANDF audit reveals only 27% of soldiers fit for duty

SANDF army defence force soldiers

South Africa’s defence force is facing a severe health and readiness crisis, with new audit findings showing that just 27% of soldiers are fit for deployment.

According to reports, this has left thousands undeployable, forcing the SANDF to rely on a small group of healthy personnel for repeated missions.

Defence analyst, Ricardo Teixeira says the writing has been on the wall for years.
"People have been warning that it's on the brink of collapse for a very long time and it's clear this is the result of underfunding and of poor leadership and not taking our army seriously."

Teixeira says the current intake rate at the SANDF is not large enough to address the issue.
"It's a complete collapse of any sort of logistical chain," he says.


The SANDF has completely lost its logisticalcapability, says Teixeira, admitting that part of the reason must lie with its financial constraints.

"If we had to double the defence budget, it would still be less than the SAPS budget, and there seems to be no appetite within treasury to give the Department of Defence another cent."

However, he says, this is not a problem that will be solved by money alone.

"This is a problem that needs to be addressed with leadership and a plan. We need a minister who understands the issues this institute is facing."

Moreover, there are no quick fixes for the SANDF says Teixeira, adding that the issues facing the defence force will take at least a decade to fix.

To listen to Ricardo Teixeira in conversation with Africa Melane, click audio below:

Get the whole picture 💡

Take a look at the topic timeline for all related articles.

Trending News