Medical training for South African troops in Cuba was 136% more expensive when compared to an equivalent tertiary course in South Africa, and the Department of Defence could have saved over R122-million if soldiers studied locally in SA.

These were the findings of the Auditor-General (AG), who placed the Department of Defence (DOD) contract with the Cubans under the magnifying glass as it scrutinised the department’s 2022/23 annual report in Parliament.

According to the AG, the DOD continues to incur irregular expenditure relating to Project Thusano, the official name of the Cuban deal, and disclosed R308-million irregular expenditure for the project in 2022-23 financial statements.

Under Project Thusano, the militaries of South Africa and Cuba conduct exchange programmes, especially in field equipment, with the Cubans providing maintenance and repair of South Africa's defence equipment/vehicles.

Professional training services were provided for vocational courses in military medical/medicine.

The findings were contained in the AG’s report in the budget review and recommendations reports (BRRR).

"In comparing the contract cost for the vocational courses in military medical/medicine to the local market, it was assessed to be 136% more expensive to study an equivalent tertiary course in Cuba than in South Africa, and the department could have realised an estimated saving of R122 393 291 over the period of the medical students' studies (2014 – 2028) if the 79 students were studying in South Africa and not Cuba.

"This would have released funding for other competing priorities, given the tight budget the department is currently experiencing," the report said.

"In addition, medical students (21) who completed the vocational training are also additionally enrolled at the University of Pretoria for 18 months for an integration course at an additional cost to the department of R8 213 289,21 (R391 109,01 per student)," the report stated.

For 70 of the 134 students who have completed their vocational training in tank and transport technique, no comparable South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) accreditation has been obtained to date.

"This is because timely application to SAQA has not been made or no budget has been allocated to fund the SAQA accreditation cost," the report read.

Furthermore, the AG reported that 15 of the 28 mechanical engineering students who completed their vocational courses during 2021 and 2022 and received a comparable SAQA accreditation in B. Eng Mechanical Engineering have not been deployed in professional positions by June.

"Although these officials are utilised in a technical environment in the department, they could not be placed due to the Military Dispensation for Engineers and related professions not catering for enough positions.

"Due to the unavailability of their current job profiles at the time of audit, the return on investment, the actual cost, which was calculated at R1 097 874,44 per student (86% more than the cost to study an equivalent engineering course in South Africa), had not been realised," it reported.

Regarding military vehicles preserved through Project Thusano, it was found that they were not stored in an acceptable state to enable preservation thereof.

Multiple preserved SAMILs with no wheels were observed in Hanger 128 at the Mob Centre Bloemfontein.

"The vehicles were resting on trestles. The auditors were unable to establish the extent of military vehicles preserved without wheels or whether the vehicles stored in Hanger 128 are regarded as being acceptably preserved according to the department's specifications as no guideline could be obtained at the time the audit was signed off," the report said.

SAMIL trucks are the standard logistical transport vehicles of the SANDF.

In her department's annual report, Defence Minister Thandi Modise said due to the underfunding of the compensation of employees allocation, unauthorised expenditure of approximately R3-billion was also incurred.

"I am in constant engagement with the acting secretary for defence, the chief of the SANDF, and the department to find lasting solutions, including concrete actions. The single most prevalent challenge relates to the defence procurement system," the minister said.

"We simply cannot continue with non-compliance in the procurement of goods and services. We have agreed that any form of corrupt activity must be rooted out and pursued vigorously," she added.

Democratic Alliance MP Kobus Marais spoke of the lack of maintenance, especially in the air force.

"We can't operate with pilots who do not have training and whose equipment are not maintained. Those are the issues we need to deal with," he said.