Neglected South African military needs big investment

South Africa’s cash-strapped armed forces are in a "critical state of decline" that will take at least a decade to fix even with urgent action, says a military strategy review seen by Reuters news agency.

It said "neglect" of defence capability could affect everything from border security to trade and constrain Pretoria’s continental peace-keeping and diplomatic ambitions.

A regular contributor to United Nations peace missions in Africa, South Africa has troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, and its ships and frigates support antipiracy efforts off Mozambique.

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