1 . What reasons and/or advice were received in the consideration for the relocation of the headquarters of the (a) Infantry Formation and (b) Army Support Formation of the SA National Defence Force to the dilapidated, rat-infested Bester Building in Pretoria?

(1) With reference to her 2024 Budget Vote speech, wherein she stated that her department needed to deal with the challenges associated with the verification and database for military veterans, (a) what was the number of veterans listed on the database and (b)(i) on what date was the Department of Military Veterans (DMV) established and (ii) what was the breakdown of the forces that were recognised as constituting the DMV; (2) what (a) is the total number of military veterans of each specified force currently listed on the DMV database, (b) is the current total of outstanding applications that still have to be processed and (c) total number of applications have not been acknowledged within the stated 30 days according to the regulations of the department; (3) what (a) are the reasons that the DMV informs veterans, whose applications have been acknowledged as received, that such will be finalised within 6 or 12 months or before end of 2025 and (b) is the total number of military veterans that her department planned to process for benefits, as it issued over 1,6 million force numbers? NW358E

(1) With reference to her 2024 Budget Vote speech, wherein she stated that the Defence and Military Veterans (DMV) will be working with the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) to ensure that robust Information and Communication Technology (JCT) infrastructure is implemented, (a) on what date did cooperation with SITA in respect of the database kick off, (b) what progress has been made so far, (c) on what date is it expected to be implemented and (d) how will it streamline the process for military veterans; (2) whether the ICT infrastructure will include the initial Department of Defence personal details on the PERSAL system so that military veterans do not need to obtain and submit the required printouts; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (3) whether ICT infrastructure will include the doing away with (a) obtaining Department of Home Affairs letter stating the old and new identity numbers are according to legislation and only the first 10 digits should be checked and (b) the initial requirement for copies of drivers' licences, spouse and children's details, proof of residence, banking details, marriage certificates, co-habitation certificates, Education qualifications and rather request these when relevant to applications for specific benefits that require this information; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details in this regard; (4) whether ICT infrastructure will include (a) an online status enquiry system in order to enable Military Veterans to enquire the status of the process and (b) the dates for acknowledgement of application as well as a finalisation date after all details have been received; if not, why not in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case? NW357E

(1) Whether the SA National Military Veterans Association (SANMVA) has been approved as the association as mentioned in the Military Veterans Act, Act 18 of 2011, as the representative association; if not, why not; if so, on what date; (2) Whether the constitution of the SANMVA has been accepted and/or recognised officially; if not, why not; if so, on what date; (3) whether the mandate of the SANMVA has been renewed as the military veterans' umbrella body, as mentioned in her 2024 Budget Vote speech; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NW356E

(1) What were (a) the original dates for the finalisation of Project Hoefyster, (b) dates of each extended finalisation date and (c) reasons for each extension; (2) What (a) was the initial envisaged cost of the completion of Project Hoefyster, and (b)(i) were the dates, (ii) reasons and (iii) adjusted envisaged cost of each extension; (3) What (a) are the current delivery dates for each Badger variant, (b) are dates on which the number of Badger Infantry fighting vehicle's was reduced and (c) was the reduction number on each specified date.

(1) Whether the logistics division of the Department of Defence is operating without the intervention of the office of the Secretary for Defence; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

In light of the recent deaths of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), what (a) immediate measures are being taken to ensure that SANDF soldiers who are deployed on peacekeeping missions are properly equipped and protected, given the growing risks in regions like the DRC, (b) steps is the Government taking to reassess the safety protocols and military strategies that are currently in place for SANDF soldiers deployed in peacekeeping missions and (c) are the full details of the support her department will provide to the families of the SANDF soldiers who died during the peacekeeping missions in the DRC?

Whether she has found that the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) contingent deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of the peacekeeping missions of the United Nations and the Southern African Development Community had sufficient military equipment, which includes ammunition and defence capacity during battles with rebel forces; if not, why not; if so, what has she found led to the death of 14 SANDF members and (b) to what extent were there deficiencies in supplies, with specific reference to which equipment was not available?

(1) What steps has been undertaken by the SANDF to ensure that Armscor recovers the staggering amount of R8,3 billion that had been paid over to Denel Land Systems (DLS), when it became clear that DLS was unable to fulfil its contractual obligations. (2) Whether she has found that the delay in recovering the money and the investigation, especially in light of the tragic consequences that it had for the SANDF soldiers who lost their lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was not only grossly negligent, but in fact criminal; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details. (3) Whether she has found that any consequences should follow in respect of the payment of R8,3 billion to DLS in respect of (a) her predecessors, (c) the current Chief of the SANDF, General Rudzani Maphwanya, and (d) his predecessors, who have been in gross dereliction of duties for the past 18 years.

In light of the fact that a certain senior official of Armscor (name and details furnished) has allegedly usurped some of the functions of the Armscor Company Secretary, as the liaison official with the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (details furnished), what (a) steps will she take to prevent a potential serious lapse of governance and illegal interference by the specified senior official from occurring again and (b) consequence management steps is she taking against the specified senior official?