Cape Town (Sapa) - African National Congress MPs expressed implicit support on Monday for President Thabo Mbeki's exclusion of the Heath Special Investigating Unit from the probe into the controversial R43-billion arms acquisition programme.

In a statement read out at a media conference in parliament, attended by ANC members of the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa), ANC deputy chief whip Geoff Doidge said it was the party's view that the Scopa report adopted by the National Assembly in November last year did "not in any way single out any of the investigative bodies as institutions that must be appointed to look into the matters Scopa identified".

The ANC in parliament wished to state emphatically that it stood by the contents of the Scopa report of November 2. "It is our view that all matters that require further investigation, identified in the report, must be looked at and reported upon as stated in the report."

The ANC was pleased to note that the various investigative bodies had combined into a single unit chaired by Auditor-General Shauket Fakie, that would "fully inquire into the matters highlighted in the report of Scopa and the auditor-general's special report".

The ANC further believed it was important that Parliament and its committees at all times acted in accordance with resolutions they had agreed to.

Doidge said the ANC was pleased to note the executive's commitment to assist the inquiry and their undertaking that they would appear before Scopa when invited.

The ANC urged Scopa's chairman, the IFP's Dr Gavin Woods, to ensure his committee's meeting this week should be transparent and therefore be open to the media and public.

With acknowledgement to Sapa and WOZA.