Soft line taken on developments around arms probe, says DA

CAPE TOWN African National Congress (ANC) members of Parliament's public accounts committee have produced a draft report on developments around the R43bn arms probe, which opposition parties say completely exonerates the executive of any responsibility and is silent on its attacks on the committee.

The presentation of the ANC's report mandated by the party itself follows several months of unsuccessfully trying to find a multiparty consensus.

ANC spokesman Vincent Smith said the ANC would "defend the report to the death", and would not agree to the attachment of minority reports to the main report, which will be submitted to the national assembly.

The ANC would try to accommodate the views of the minority parties but would present the amended report for adoption to a committee meeting scheduled for May 30, he said.

As the minority parties are opposed to the report, it is considered inevitable that it can only be adopted by way of a vote, with the ANC using its position as majority party to push through its version of events.

The ANC report is an account of the investigating agencies and their tasks. It expresses its "full confidence in the capacity and integrity of the three agencies" the public protector, auditor-general and national director of public prosecutions.

It implicitly criticises committee chairman Gavin Woods for asking President Thabo Mbeki to include the Heath special investigating unit in the probe without the committee's mandate.

The ANC's report reiterates a committee resolution, passed with its majority vote, that the committee did not intend for the Heath unit to be involved.

The executive's position on the contract price is accepted, with the report saying "that any attempt to affix any possible future costs would be merely one of a number of projections".

Woods said he could not agree to the ANC report which was a capitulation to the executive. He rejected its interpretation of the original resolution regarding the inclusion of the Heath unit and its inappropriate response to the criticisms by cabinet ministers and Deputy President Jacob Zuma of the committee's work. Woods felt it imperative that the committee defend its work and integrity and said its accountability role would be undermined if this was not done.

Democratic Alliance (DA) spokeswoman Raenette Taljaard also said the report treated the executive far too favourably.

It adopted too soft a line on the costs of the deal and the cabinet's responsibility for subcontracting, despite the evidence to the contrary emerging from the investigation. It was also "completely silent" on the constitutional issues raised in the interaction between the executive and the legislature.

The DA believed it was "problematic" for cabinet ministers to try to delimit their accountability to the primary contracts when it appeared that they were involved in subcontracting as well, and that there were possible quid pro quo links between prime contracts and subcontractors.

Woods and Taljaard objected to the ANC apologising to the executive for the committee's supposed accusations of corruption and dishonesty, which they said were never made.

United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa also rejected the report but said the UDM would engage with the ANC to try to improve it.

The DA believed the ANC's report "would tilt the executive-legislature relationship in favour of the executive and distort the balance the constitution envisages".  

With acknowledgment to Linda Ensor and Business Day.