The South African National Defence Union (SANDU) said it noted with “cautious optimism” the peace agreement, reached with among others, the M23 group, includes provisions for the safe passage and return of SANDF troops who have been surrounded and confined to their bases for the past 63 days.

The M23 armed group agreed to a deal on Friday with the Southern African Development Community on the evacuation of SADC forces from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The 16-nation SADC, the regional bloc for southern Africa, decided to end the deployment earlier this month at a summit focused on the escalating violence.

SANDU said the agreement also includes the return of SANDF equipment to South Africa.

“There remains a significant gap between the signing of an agreement and its full execution.

“SANDU hopes and trusts that a genuine measure of goodwill exists on all sides to ensure the safe return of our SANDF members.”

SANDU expressed gratitude for the efforts of South Africa’s delegation that participated in the talks.

Meanwhile, the SANDF is set to retain the R5 billion allocated by the National Treasury in the 2025/26 Budget for its peacekeeping mission in the DRC.

President Cyril Ramaphosa extended the deployment of SANDF’s 2 900 soldiers as part of the SADC mission to support the DRC government in the fight against armed groups in the eastern part of that country.

This was from December 16, 2024, to December 16, 2025, incurring an estimated R2.3 billion in deployment costs.

While the National Treasury allocates the funding, the UN refunds countries that send troops to peacekeeping missions for costs associated with the deployment.

The reimbursement money is paid directly to the National Treasury’s account.

In the Budget tabled earlier this month, the National Treasury allocated R5 billion to support the SANDF in the peacekeeping mission in the DRC.

On Friday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said that even if savings were derived from the SANDF withdrawal from DRC, it did not automatically mean that the money would be moved away from the defence force.

“As we indicated in the past, the defence has been underfunded for years. Among other things, for instance, the point we have been making is that the defence has lost about R347 billion between 2008 and 2023.

“Its base (line funding) has been eroded. That money (allocated budget) must try to correct the defence force’s baseline, which has been eroded,” Godongwana said.

In a presentation to the committee, the National Treasury said the withdrawal of South African troops will incur costs related to logistics, transport, and operational requirements in 2025/26.

“The National Treasury will work closely with the Department of Defence to assess the financial implications of the phased withdrawal of troops from the DRC once SADC issues an official withdrawal communiqué and detailed plan.”

Deputy President Paul Mashatile said South Africa was in full support of the decisions of the summit by the East African Community and SADC's unconditional ceasefire in the DRC that required the withdrawal of troops.

“This will be done in phases because we also have a lot of equipment,” Mashatile said when responding to questions in the National Council of Provinces.

He acknowledged that the SANDF required additional funding to purchase proper equipment not only to be able to participate in peace missions but also for its growth and to protect the country.

*additional reporting Staff Writer