Chad - Military Spending

Much Chadian Government spending is not recorded, though defence spending is known to be particularly high due to the ongoing insecurity. Chad’s defense sector is growing rapidly. The total defense budget allocation for 2014 doubled over 2013, reaching $536 million. Of this, about $80 million was earmarked for military goods and equipment. The Chadian army and air force utilize a variety of land and air equipment, mostly of European or Russian origin. The Chadian army requires high mobility capabilities to protect Chad’s vast land area. The government is interested in purchasing light, durable trucks and transport aircraft. Spare parts are in constant demand. The US Department of Defense occasionally contracts for goods and services in Chad. Chad’s Ministry of Defense seeks defense articles from U.S. manufacturers. Prior to contracting, US companies were encouraged to follow formal requisition processes and verify that the government has made an adequate budget allocation.

Overall, in 2010 the Government had been spending $12 million per month to meet security and humanitarian obligations in eastern and south-eastern Chad, excluding the cost of border security operations conducted by joint Chadian-Sudanese forces.

The 2011 draft budget prepared by the budget and finance unit of DIS was based on article 16 of Decree No. 1131/PR/08 of 27 September 2008 on the creation and organization of DIS, which granted national and other entitlements to DIS members. Accordingly, budgetary and financial allocations are estimated at 3,200,652,000 CFA francs. Food and general subsistence allowances for a force of 1,000, calculated on the basis of operating rates, amounted to CFAF 61,200,000. Administrative expenses, calculated on the basis of the operating rate, are estimated at CFAF 162,432,000.

For 2011, the budget and finance unit carried over the annual allowances paid to DIS personnel by MINURCAT. For a force of 1,000, the budget was CFAF 2,677,020,000, in addition to the base salaries paid by the originating institutions of DIS personnel. Internal and external continuous education in humanitarian law was estimated at CFAF 100,000,000. Mission expenses for field visits and security assessments were estimated at CFAF 100,000,000. An intelligence fund of CFAF 100,000,000 was also included in the budget, as it was considered indispensable for the effective implementation of actions to prevent and suppress acts of banditry in eastern Chad; as is well known, intelligence comes at a price.

An accurate picture of the actual economic burden of defense costs in the 1980s could not be obtained because of the limited statistical data available from Chadian government sources. Officially, defense expenditures came to about CFA F9.0 billion in 1984, CFA F9.4 billion in 1985, and CFA F8.4 billion in 1986 (In December 1988 the exchange rate was CFA F298 to US$1). These expenditureh constituted slightly in excess of 37 percent of the total budget in 1984 and 1985 and slightly less than 35 percent in 1986.

It was believed, however, that actual defense expenditures were considerably higher than those given in official figures. Moreover, the available data did not reflect most of the assistance received from France, which was used to meet personnel and operating needs. The expansion of FANT and the heavy financial burden imposed by the fighting in 1987 undoubtedly necessitated a further upsurge in defense outlays. In view of the small proportion of the government budget that could be met through taxation and other domestic revenues, continuation of a high level of French subsidy was indispensable to cover such ongoing military costs as fuel, supplies, munitions, and wages.

In addition to official budget expenditures, it was reported that a further CFA F2 billion had been raised annually since 1984 on behalf of FANT in the form of "voluntary" donations collected from private citizens and businesses by officials of the only recognized political party, the National Union for Independence and Revolution (Union Nationale pour l'Indipendance et la Revolution- UNIR). In spite of the fund-raising, FANT troops received only five months' pay during 1986.

According to the World Bank, military expenditures data from SIPRI are derived from the NATO definition, which includes all current and capital expenditures on the armed forces, including peacekeeping forces; defense ministries and other government agencies engaged in defense projects; paramilitary forces, if these are judged to be trained and equipped for military operations; and military space activities. Such expenditures include military and civil personnel, including retirement pensions of military personnel and social services for personnel; operation and maintenance; procurement; military research and development; and military aid (in the military expenditures of the donor country).

Excluded are civil defense and current expenditures for previous military activities, such as for veterans' benefits, demobilization, conversion, and destruction of weapons. This definition cannot be applied for all countries, however, since that would require much more detailed information than is available about what is included in military budgets and off-budget military expenditure items. (For example, military budgets might or might not cover civil defense, reserves and auxiliary forces, police and paramilitary forces, dual-purpose forces such as military and civilian police, military grants in kind, pensions for military personnel, and social security contributions paid by one part of government to another.)