Q&A with Malusi Gigaba on the state of 1 Military Hospital in Tshwane

Have you asked the minister of defence, Angie Motshekga,  why she lied about the state of 1 Mil?

Well, at the present moment she hasn’t briefed our committee.

Wasn’t it last year that she told the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) that 1 Mil was in good condition?

We’re not aware of the report she gave to the NCOP.

Is this what your oversight visit to 1 Mil revealed?

No. We found the situation at the hospital is quite dire. The first and second floors remain unconstructed, and that’s where your emergency theatres, ICU, radiology unit and pharmacy are supposed to be.

Have you asked the minister to account for the more than R1bn supposedly spent by the department on refurbishing the hospital?

That’s what we’re going to do when parliament resumes. We have a meeting with the Special Investigating Unit in May to understand all the investigations there have been into 1 Mil. We will then meet with the minister to understand what steps are being taken to ensure that those responsible are held accountable, and what is going to be done to ensure the completion of construction.

Do you believe 1 Mil is the tip of the iceberg?

It could very well be. We’ll know that when we see reports of the SIU, the military ombud, military service commission and the auditor-general.

Have you asked the minister about the R14.3bn the AG says has been irregularly spent by the department of defence over the past five years?

The portfolio committee has. We are focusing on what is our mandate as the joint standing committee.

Will you be asking the minister about other military buildings in a state of collapse?

We are going to ask about all of those issues.

Will you ask the minister what she means when she says the military is able to fulfil its constitutional duty?

Based on our oversight visit we do want to engage with her on that. We will discuss the "journey to greatness" programme the defence force has adopted, and issues of the defunding of the SANDF, because quite obviously the general state of our defence force is of concern.

Do you believe it’s able to fulfil its constitutional duty?

At the present moment we believe it is still able to fulfil its constitutional duty, but under constrained conditions.

Such as that only 16 out of 199 military aircraft are in a state to be deployed?

Yes.

But not all 16 can be deployed, due to a shortage of flight engineers?

A number of engineering skills have been lost. If we don’t attend to these problems with urgency [the SANDF] will not be able to fulfil its constitutional duty or obligations on the continent.

Have you asked the minister why her generals are living like royalty while her department says it can’t afford to support our soldiers in battle? 

That’s something we’re going to pay attention to.

Will you ask how she can blame our soldiers’ plight on budget constraints when R26.5m was spent on luxury vehicles for her generals last year?

The portfolio committee is dealing with that, but obviously we are not constrained as the joint standing committee to also ask that question.