It was inevitable that some areas would be short-changed in the budget.
Politically, the SA National Defence Force was probably more vulnerable than any other government department or recipient of state spending. The view is widespread that the country does not really need an army, navy or air force.
Even those who do acknowledge the necessity for a military establishment are hard-put to defend its claims on spending against those of social welfare, education, health and policing.
Government set aside R32,88bn for defence this year, compared with R85,5bn for the criminal justice system (police, courts, prisons). The fight against crime has far more emotional appeal than potential fights against enemies that are as yet unknown.
However, the dangerous effects of the neglect of the army, in particular, were seen last year when mutinous soldiers marched on the Union Buildings.
Government has acknowledged that the current funding levels are unacceptable. That is why it has made provision, through additional allocations in the 2010 medium-term expenditure framework, for an extra R2,18bn over the next three years to be spent on the SANDF's new remuneration system.
An additional R220m will be spent on the military skills development system, which is crucial as a means of recruiting new members into the regular force. Each intake of volunteers spends two years in full-time training and deployment. A core number are then selected to stay in the regular force, and the rest are retained through the reserve force.
The problem is that these additional sums, while they will be helpful, cannot compensate for the many years of real decline in the defence budget. The situation is fast approaching where the expensive armaments that have been procured - ships and aircraft, in particular - will have no skilled people to operate and maintain them.
Much of the army's equipment is obsolete and its training budget has been cut to the bone.
Yet the SANDF is expected to perform dangerous peacekeeping duties in Africa, without the necessary logistical support and reserve manpower. Damage to morale and ultimately operational efficiency is unavoidable.
The fact that none of this was mentioned in the budget address reflects the state of national priorities, but it is storing up trouble for the future.
