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South Africa: Arms Probes Pressure Mbeki
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Cape Argus (Cape Town)
23 March 2008
Posted to the web 24 March 2008
Chiara Carter
The reopening of criminal investigations into the arms deal coupled with several ongoing probes by foreign countries and an internal "fact-gathering" process by ANC top brass have upped the ante for President Thabo Mbeki and his cabinet, who face rekindled calls for the government to set up an independent inquiry.
With revelations that German investigators believe millions of dollars in bribes were paid to top officials and politicians and have launched a new investigation into the purchase of jet fighters and trainers, pressure is mounting within the ANC and beyond for Mbeki to disclose exactly what he knows.
At the time of the controversial arms deal, Mbeki chaired the ministers' committee that made the final decisions.
It was reported this week that the Scorpions had registered an official investigation into the purchase of jet trainers and fighter jets from British BAE Systems and Sweden's SAAB - the largest single expenditure in the arms-deal package and long a controversial one.
This was confirmed this weekend by sources in the national prosecuting authority, but not officially by the Scorpions.
British investigators, meanwhile, have been looking into payments of more than R1-billion as "commissions" - shorthand for alleged bribes.
Names mentioned as being under scrutiny include Joe Modise, the former defence minister (since deceased), and several top business figures.
Details about a separate German probe into alleged corruption relating to the country's warships purchase have this week revealed that the Germans are looking into alleged bribes paid to top officials and politicians.
The cabinet this week came to the defence of Mbeki, saying: "The allegations against the presidency are accordingly dismissed as baseless, mere speculation and gross mischief as they bear no relation to the truth."
But, Eddie Trent, the Democratic Alliance spokesman on the arms deal, said Mbeki had no choice but to appoint an independent commission of inquiry.
Trent had asked Mbeki about claims that the president had repeatedly refused to assist the Scorpions' investigations.
Mbeki previously attempted to duck DA questions on whether he had met representatives of French arms company Thomson-CSF in 1998 and what assurances they had been given.
The call for an independent - preferably judicial - inquiry is also supported by Patricia de Lille, the Independent Democrats leader, who pointed the first finger in public at alleged corruption in the deal.
Andrew Feinstein, a former ANC MP and campaigner on the arms deal, has claimed that he was told by a senior ANC leader in 2001 that the ANC was the beneficiary of donations from the successful bidders in the deal.
Feinstein, a former member of parliament's standing committee on public accounts, has accused the presidency of killing that committee's investigation and for pressuring the auditor general to change a report on whether there was corruption in the arms deal. The editing of that report allegedly included sweeping changes to the section about the purchase of the jets.
Earlier this year, the ANC appointed an ad hoc committee to probe the arms deal and advise it on how to approach the fraud and corruption charges against Jacob Zuma. Behind the scenes, some ANC leaders are now exploring the notion of an arms-deal amnesty that would not only clear the way for Zuma to become Mbeki's successor but also ensure that government officials and ministers do not face later prosecutions.
Critical to the proposal is that the party's top brass come clean behind closed doors about the arms deal.
Cosatu has called for this report to be opened to public scrutiny but the ANC said the findings of the top-level committee tasked to compile a factual report were for its own internal discussions.
Tokyo Sexwale, a leading NEC member, last weekend drew the NEC's attention to the German probe.
Meanwhile, a letter made public by Trent this week that is apparently from the German prosecutors to the Swiss authorities bluntly states that bribes were indeed paid to secure the contract to supply the South African navy with corvettes.
It points to an agreement that is the nub of the German probe: a "commission agreement" that was reached with a letterbox [shelf] company registered in Liberia for an amount more than $22-million.
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Themba Maseko, the chief government spokesperson, this week said the government was concerned about attempts to "cast aspersions on the person and office of the presidency".
He said the cabinet's concern was not at this stage directed at others alleged to have been involved in graft.
The justice department has issued a statement denying that government was dragging its heels in co-operating with German authorities.
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