The South African National Defence Force parliamentary oversight compromised? The institutional (in)capacity of Parliament

Abstract

Parliamentary oversight is an important aspect of democratic governance of the defence force: in the absence of this oversight, the defence force is likely to act with impunity. But to achieve sound oversight, institutional capacity must be enabled. Knowing the significance of this, the South African government introduced a range of mechanisms to build the institutional capacity of parliament. Laudable as these mechanisms are, they have not necessarily led to the desired level of oversight of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), however. Challenges remain. If anything, parliament’s institutional capacity seems largely inadequate, defective and impaired. Lately, however, there have been encouraging signs of institutional capacity improvement, yet, at this early stage, their success in enhancing oversight of the defence force is yet to be determined.