MORE weapons, not fewer, were needed to fight crime and political instability in South Africa and Africa, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota told a meeting of church leaders in Durban on Friday, the SABC reported.
Addressing the meeting on the topic of ”Arms or Bread”, Lekota said the number of military personnel had been almost halved from 130 000 to 70 000.
South Africa needed weapons to meet its peace-keeping obligations in countries like Burundi, to fight drug cartels, and to keep out illegal immigrants.
Far more was spent on social purposes than on the military, Lekota said, with the defence budget being a mere 1,9% of the country’s gross domestic product.
Paddy Kearney, the director of the Diakonia Council of Churches, said the money spent on South Africa’s multi-billion rand arms procurement deal, would be better spent on poverty relief.
The SABC report noted that some 20 million South Africans live in poverty. ? Sapa