SA RESUMES high-profile public hearings today into a multibillion arms deal involving five west European countries that has been dogged by claims of bribery and corruption.

The case, in the Pretoria High Court to be presided over by a three-man panel, is expected to last two months and will dig deep into the financial and procedural details of the deal, SA's biggest arms transaction in seven years.

Heading the semi-judicial inquiry is Public Protector Selby Baqwa, assisted by the auditorgeneral and the national directorate for public prosecutions.

The office of the public protector was set up to defend standards in public office.

"The case will resume tomorrow and hopefully there will be no more unnecessary adjournments," said an official in Baqwa's office.

The case first opened on May 28 but was immediately adjourned at the request of the defence department, which requested more time to study documents and talk to witnesses summoned to testify from the department.

The R43bn arms deal, signed in 1999 involves British, French, German, Italian, SA and Swedish firms. They include Britain's BAE Systems, France's Thomson-CSF and Sweden's Saab.

The deal was supposed to generate investments valued at R104bn and create 65000 jobs.

But allegations of bribery and corruption surfaced and a preliminary study by the auditor-general last year called for an in-depth review after finding serious flaws in procedure.

Baqwa's office, the auditorgeneral and the national directorate for public prosecutions are jointly probing up to 50 allegations of wrongdoing and impropriety in the arms deal at the request of parliament's public accounts committee.

Under the deal, SA, Africa's military heavyweight, will over the next few years take delivery of four corvettes, three submarines, 30 light utility helicopters, 24 Hawk lead-in-fighter trainers as well as 28 Gripen advanced fighters.

Witnesses who will testify in the arms case include retired SA navy chief Vice-Adm Robert Simpson-Anderson and former airforce chief Gen Willem Hechter.

At last month's opening session, Baqwa said the public hearings were intended to keep the public informed on the arms deal and would not interfere with separate criminal inquiries currently under way.

Government officials, defence experts, lawyers and opposition party members are expected to submit evidence.

The hearings are aimed at restoring public faith after a series of public relations disasters over the deal.

Opposition politicians have labelled the public hearings a whitewash, but some political analysts disagree.

The analysts say the hearings mark a critical phase in a process that cuts to the heart of SA's young parliamentary democracy.

In January, President Thabo Mbeki's ruling African National Congress demoted and silenced Andrew Feinstein, one of its own leading members, who had championed the investigation.

Mbeki also barred his top antigraft unit from participating in the inquiry into the deal and accused the unit's investigators of trying to undermine his government. Opposition and government critics have accused Mbeki's government of a cover-up, a charge strongly denied by the government.

SA's move to re-equip its armed forces has triggered a volley of criticism across the political spectrum.

These criticisms range from complaints that the country does not need and cannot afford the weapons to observations that the money would be better spent on welfare.

With acknowledgment to Reuters and Business Day.