Hon House Chairperson, Ministers, Deputy Minister, my colleagues, and members in the gallery. The National Freedom Party, NFP, notes the report and also equally supports the report of the Department of Defense and Military Veterans, tabled here today.
Allow me to start by paying tribute to the late General Pieterse, Commander of the Khoi and San Self Defense Unit, who died last week at his home in Swellendam. May his soul, rest in peace. I would also like extend our condolences to his family and friends. Having said that, it is my understanding that, the matter of the Khoi and San Self Defense Unit and the Cape Corps has not been finalized. There have been negotiations and I hope that at some stage we can deal with the matter appropriately.
I don't want to dwell too much into the challenges that the department is facing because many of my colleagues have done that, particularly with the over spending, the under spending and the limited resources that we have. What I think is very clear is that, with the limited resources that the department has, you are not in a position to fulfill your mandate as required by the constitution.
I think that it is a very important matter that we need to look at. I want o agree to a certain extent, with what hon Groenewald said, that there is currently no external threat or risk to South Africa. However, let us not forget that there is a greater
risk internally and yes while there might not have been enough consultation between the South African Police Services, SAPS, and the South African Defense, what is very clear is that the department has an equal responsibility to protect the citizens inside the country, like it has done in protecting the interest of the country from external forces.
There is no doubt about the fact that there is a serious challenge that we face as a result of the socioeconomic conditions in South Africa. We welcome any support. The National Freedom Party has been calling for this for many years, that the SAPS is not in a position to deal with the challenges of crime in SA on its own. Therefore, any assistance from the South African National Defense will go a long way in dealing with crime in SA. We urge you to work with the SAPS. Of course you must comply with your obligations and the rule of law.
Regarding boarder control, you are doing some work to a certain extent but a lot more needs to be done because our boarders leave a lot to be desired and a lot of the challenges that we face in the country are as a result of the poor management at
the boarders. We call on the department to assist and work together with Home Affairs and other relevant departments. The NFP supports the report tabled here today.