defenceWeb Written by Guy Martin - 706 The declining defence budget and the poor state of Denel are having a negative impact on the South African defence industry, Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) has said. In a committee report dated 26 February, the JSCD examined the state of the South African Defence Industry (SADI), after engagements with the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), Armscor, Denel, the National Defence Industry Council (NDIC) and the South African Defence Industry (SADI), represented by the Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Industries Association (AMD). It said one of the biggest challenges facing the defence industry in South Africa is the declining defence budget and its subsequent negative impact. The Defence Budget shortfall means that the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) cannot modernise through the acquisition of equipment and systems while maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) is also falling behind. The fact that the Special Defence Account (SDA), which is designed for the SANDF’s weapons acquisition and long-term research and development (R&D) projects, is being phased out is one of the main reasons for this situation.