The government has budgeted R1,1-billion over the next three years for the Department of Defence to continue peacekeeping operations in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), said Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel in his Budget speech in Parliament on Wednesday.
The Budget Review — issued in tandem with Wednesday’s national Budget — said South Africa’s re-entry into international relations “has posed both new opportunities and challenges for the country”.
“As a full member of the international community, South Africa is playing a leading role both on the African continent and more broadly among the developing nations,” Manuel said.
The review said that on the African continent, South Africa “seeks to promote peaceful relations and regional stability as necessary prerequisites for accelerated economic growth and human development. One of the main interventions over the past three years had been the deployment of peacekeeping operations in countries affected by conflict.”
“South Africa has played a pivotal role in resolving conflicts in the DRC and Burundi. Peace support has also been rendered to a more limited extend in Rwanda, Liberia, Ethiopia and Eritrea,” added the review. — I-Net Bridge