Military Ombud warns its independence is undermined by lack of funding

The Office of the Military Ombud has exceeded its performance targets for the 2024/25 financial year, but warned that persistent structural and funding constraints continue to hamper its full independence and operational efficiency.

Military Ombud achieves target for case resolution

Presenting its Annual Activity Report to the Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) on Friday, the office revealed that it achieved an 89.58% case resolution rate, well above its 75% target.

After normalising the caseload to exclude 237 historical complaints from former civilian employees that fell outside its mandate, the effective resolution rate stood at 83.84%.

According the presentation, “these fell outside the ombud’s mandate, referred to the secretary for defence for handling and excluded from normalised performance trends”.

The office dealt with about 353 cases during the reporting period, with only 69 active matters carried over into the 2025/26 financial year; a relatively low backlog.

The office also expanded its national footprint through 68 outreach activities, including visits to military bases, public engagements and participation in presidential izimbizo programmes.

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The ombud emphasised that its legislative mandate under the Military Ombud Act empowers it to investigate written complaints from serving and former members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) relating to conditions of service, as well as complaints from the public regarding the conduct of SANDF members.

However, institutional challenges remain a recurring concern. Among the key hurdles cited were delays in cooperation from SANDF divisions when providing records and information, prolonged turnaround times in filling vacant posts and a structural shortfall in Compensation of Employees (COE) funding.

Military Ombud asks for more money

The office reported an over-expenditure of R3.94 million on its budget, spending R49.56 million against an allocation of R45.62 million.

Goods and services expenditure amounted to R16.22 million, with procurement delays continuing to affect spending patterns.

The ombud called on the JSCD to support a review of its budget baseline to align funding with its 63 approved posts, and to strengthen oversight of the Department of Defence’s implementation of the ombud’s recommendations.

In a related presentation, the department of defence agreed that slow responses by services and divisions, as well as delays or non-implementation of recommendations, remain a challenge.

The department and the ombud’s office hold monthly meetings to address these bottlenecks.

Despite the constraints, the ombud reported strong governance compliance, with 100% submission of accountability documents and no fruitless or wasteful expenditure recorded during the year under review.

ALSO READ: Toothless military ombud sparks frustration as cases stall since 2017

In November, the ombudsman, retired Lieutenant-General Vusumuzi Masondo, decried the slow pace in the implementation of the office’s recommendations, lamenting that this has left a trail of disgruntled complainants.

SANDF chief accused of defying minister

The chief of the SANDF has recently come under the spotlight for defying Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Angie Motshekga’s order to reinstate SA Air Force Colonel Eugene Motati.

Motati, who was fired in 2019 following untested sexual harassment claims, received a favourable ruling from the military ombudsman in 2023, but to date, has yet to be reinstated as General Rudzani Maphanya refuses to budge, without stating any reasons.

He has reportedly vowed not to reinstate the colonel unless he is given a court order.