JOHANNESBURG, March 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Peace in strife-torn Burundi
would not have been secured without  the timeous deployment of
South African troops to provide protection for that country's
returning leaders, South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel
said on Friday.
   Manuel made the remarks in the National Assembly in Cape Town
during a debate on legislation providing for the financing of the
South African National Defense Force's (SANDF) peacekeeping
mission in Burundi.
   Criticizing opposition parties opposed to the mission, Manuel
said peace would not have been secured if "we waited" until
international pledges of finance for the mission had been realized.
   There had been an urgent need to secure the fragile peace in
Burundi, and South Africa had acted timeously after considering
all aspects, he said.
   Meanwhile, Deputy Defense Minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge
said the total cost of the mission would amount to about 389
million rand (about 32.9 million U.S. dollars).
   International contributions already pledged totaled around 266
million rand (about 22.5 million dollars), but negotiations with
other countries, including the United States and Norway, were
still underway, she said.
   To date, only 17 million rand (about 1.5 million dollars) had
actually been realized, she said.
   The mission, involving 701 SANDF personnel, was launched in
late October last year, and is expected to last at least a year.
   It mainly involves providing protection to Burundi's political
leaders returning from exile.
   After the eventual signing of a ceasefire agreement, the SANDF
contingent will train Burundi's own forces to take over their
duties.
   Initially, troops from several other African countries were to
join the mission, but this has not materialized.  Enditem