House Chairperson,
The Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation is concerned that most of DIRCO’s 2026/27 budget allocation of R7.23 billion will be swallowed by inflation and exchange‑rate pressures, enabling neither new programmes nor substantive work to be done.
National Treasury continues to impose rigid ceilings on employee compensation, severely restricting DIRCO’s ability to fully resource its missions and diplomatic outposts abroad. This impacts the department’s capacity to protect South African citizens and businesses in active conflict zones.
The ACDP calls for ring‑fenced funding for consular protections, targeted exemptions for critical posts, and prioritisation of staff to high‑risk regions where South Africans face the greatest danger.
We also call for investment in secure digital platforms for consular services that would reduce reliance on costly in‑person staffing while still ensuring accessibility.
The ACDP also calls for a review mechanism so that ceilings do not undermine constitutional obligations to protect citizens abroad.
At the same time, we see significant underspending on missions and infrastructure, more than R1 billion in 2024/25, and irregular spending of R44.5 million. Around 60 per cent of this budget is spent outside South Africa where fluctuating exchange rates make it vulnerable.
The ACDP urges Parliament to demand data on measurable impact with ethical consistency and transparency in global engagements.
It must attract economic partners, like the USA, not chase them away. We are wasting tens of millions on ICJ litigation that serves foreign agendas to our detriment. In addition, having a senior government official publicly endorse calls for South Africa to revive its nuclear weapons does not help with this aim.
This budget still does not show clear measurable impact, strong anti-corruption action nor respect for taxpayers.
According to Auditor-General reports, ongoing non-compliance has severely delayed property maintenance. Some state-owned properties aboard have been unserviced for over a decade and procurement violations have stalled capital projects. Delays in identifying service providers for required renovations and IT modernisations have repeatedly stalled capital asset spending.
DIRCO is severely under-capacitated abroad: it has fewer than 2,000 South African staff and about 1,276 locally-engaged foreign staff, yet it faces a vacancy rate of over 26 per cent in missions. This leaves many diplomatic posts unfilled and undermines consular protection and economic diplomacy.
I thank you.
