Africanews
Having reduced its arms expenditure by 50 per cent following the demise of apartheid, South Africa still remains a top spender in the arms industry which is now taking in 2.7 billion rand a year. |
South Africa's arms industry is losing its domestic market to the emergence of peace. Developed to defeat sanctions in a climate of war, it now has turned to exports to survive. The defence industry constitutes those companies which are engaged in research, design, development, production assembly, test, maintenance, logistic support and project management of goods and services to primarily the defence force and the police services which are generally supplied to both customers through the state defence systems acquisition agency, Armscor.Armscor, which will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 1998, was established primarily to meet the needs of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), is at present still dependent upon the needs of the SANDF. Defence expenditure by the SANDF in the 80s was about R15-bn per year, reaching a peak of R17-bn in 1990. The expenditure available to the defence force has decreased by 50 per cent from 1989 to 1995. While the total expenditure has been declining, the portion of the budget being spent on armaments, and particularly capital items, has also been declining.
This has led to equipment purchases from the defence industry dropping from over R10-bn in 1989 to the present figure of less than R3.5-bn. Of the total of R3.5-bn spent by Armscor, an estimated R800-mn is used on imported eqiupment, leaving under R2.7-bn for the local defence industry.
The government's commitment to defence research and development is also declining. It has fallen from R1.8-bn in 1987 to R525 million in 1995. Currently, the industry is spending 15 per cent of its acquisition budget on research and development, which is low in comparison with other arms producing countries.
But nevertheless in the current defence budget, 17 contracts have been awarded to upgrade and provide maintenance for GV-6 guns, supply for 127mm rockets, systems engineering on the 155mm artillery upgrade and wind-indicating projectiles, estimated to R11.22 million.
Armscor, has placed 296 orders from over R87-mn in maritime electronics, R86.3-mn on combat systems and R31.4-mn on aeronautics. In the view of defence analyst, Malek Patel, the objective of the "defence hawks" is to maintain sufficient technical self-reliance and independence in arms acquisition, and the retention and development of the defence industry.
There are approximately 800 companies in th South African defence which employs 26,120, of which an estimated 17,081 are working directly on defence work.
Their action is being watched and checked by the cabinet-level, National Conventional Arms Control Committee, chaired by Kader Asmal, Minister for Water Affairs and Forestry. The ultimate decision-maker for arms exports, the committee's main aim is to ensure that South Africa's arms trade is properly controlled and conducted in a manner that is responsible and based on respect for human rights. The South Africa government has signed many agreements and have participated in several multilateral initiatives relating to weapons of mass destruction, conventional weapons and land mines.
South Africa is fighting to maintain the role of moral crusader, but can not ignore the economic and strategic considerations of the defence industry. Exports of R1.25-mn in 1995 make the defence industry the second largest exporter after the industrial machinery sector, and about the same size as the motor vehicle component sector.
South Africa defence technology is increasingly being recognised as world class and joint ventures with industries in other countries are providing opportunities for the transfer of technology and foreign exchange through exports. In a recent survey (carried out by the South African Defence industry Association), 12 companieswere reported to have entered into 93 joint ventures with foregn companies. Of these, 27 percent involve technology outside South Africa, while 46 per cent of the technology source was South African.
Joint ventures and demand for South African arms from the Middle East, Malaysia, India, Rwanda and Australia brings a ray of hope to the future of an industry which at its peak employed 160,000. But for the defence industry to remain sustainable it needs to convert, which it is slowly doing. Armscor, is assisting the defence manufacturers to diversify and convert a portion of their defence business to civilian business. With peace in southern Africa, defence and security experts say it is time defence technology is utilised in developing new products for civilian consumers, exporting and diversification.
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PeaceLink 1996