By The President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa has deployed 2900 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members to assist the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the fight against illegal armed forces in the eastern part of the country.
According to the Presidency, the employment of the soldiers will span a period of 12 months starting from 15 December 2023 to 15 December 2024 and will carry a cost of R2 billion. The deployment is in accordance with the provisions of section 201(2) (c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
South Africa is part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and it is held by its international obligation to assist member states, of which the DRC is part of. Other SADC member states will be deploying their military forces as well to help the DRC.
The presidency has however affirmed that; the R2 billion expenditure will not impact on the provisions for the defense force’s regular maintenance and emergency repairs.
