Cape Town - Criticism of the three agencies which had investigated the multi-billion rand arms deal was a serious indictment on the Constitution, Justice Minister Penuell Maduna said on Monday.

He said in a statement the criticism of the findings of the Public Protector, National Directorate of Public Prosecutions and the Auditor-General also "smacks of racism".

"While the ministry respects the constitutional rights of people to criticise and to interrogate the report, it however views these criticisms as a serious indictment on the Constitution, which provides for the existence of these bodies.

"Indeed it is mind-boggling to see certain members of parliament, people who are supposed to set a good example to their members, displaying an attitude of disrespect or lack of confidence towards these statutory bodies," Maduna said.

Several political parties, including the Democratic Alliance, United Democratic Movement and Pan Africanist Congress, questioned the findings of the report, with some MPs describing it as a "white-wash" or a "cover-up".

Attitude that 'blacks can't be trusted'

The 380-page report - unveiled in parliament last week - found no "improper or unlawful conduct" by the government, and no grounds to suggest its contracting position was flawed.

Maduna said it appeared that those people who had criticised the findings were motivated by the "misperception that everything worked upon by black people should not be trusted or accepted right away".

"Indeed their criticism in this regard smacks of racism ... It is publicly known that the heads of these three investigating agencies are black."

One would wonder whether the report would have been acceptable to these critics had the former head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) Willem Heath been involved, he said.

Maduna urged those who had claimed they were in possession of names of government figures who had benefited directly from the deal to come forward with any information on the acquisition process.

"Government has passed a law on whistle-blowing and therefore, [they] do not have to disclose their identity.

"The ministry, furthermore, appeals to these critics to shut up or produce evidence of corruption into the arms acquisition which they seem to know about.

"The ministry wishes to reiterate that government is committed to deal with any act of corruption no matter who the person is," he said.