Minister of finance Enoch Godongwana told parliament that each dog in the South African Revenue Service (Sars) customs detector dog unit (DDU) costs an estimated R5.8m to keep through its lifetime.
Godongwana was responding to a question posed by DA MP Wendy Alexander, who asked the minister what the estimated full lifecycle cost per dog was in terms of training, handler costs, veterinary care, deployment and retirement.
The minister said the estimated working lifespan of most dogs in the Sars DDU was 10 years. “Therefore, the estimated cost over the duration of the working lifespan of the K9 is about R5,819,750 per dog,” he said.
He said initial and refresher training costs, which include the cost of the handler, are on average R54,982 per year.
“Total cost of keeping the K9 fully trained and operational over its working lifespan, therefore equates to about R549,825.”
He said handler costs are based on the salary of the handler per year, which can range from R477,558 for an entry-level official. The overall tenure of a DDU handler is about 25 years.
“[The] veterinary care — this cost is based on the veterinary services and special dog food prescribed. The cost per year averages R5,525 per dog; therefore, for the lifespan of the dog, veterinary costs can be assumed at R55,250.”
He said deployment costs comprise the cost of procurement, training of dogs and handlers, kennelling, accommodation for training interventions, veterinary costs and handlers’ cost-to-company salaries.
“These costs are not uniform, as not all DDU Units are deployed uniformly. Average costing, however, equates to R581,975 per year, which would equate to R5,819,750 over the working lifespan of a single K9.”
He said retirement costs encompass only veterinary costs, as Sars incurs no additional costs. These K9s are adopted by their handlers, Sars staff, or members of the public.
TimesLIVE
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