WHILE the suspension of Michael Woerfel the SA MD of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company is to be welcomed, this move on its own is unlikely to bolster waning public confidence in the multibillion-rand arms deal and the corruption probe into it.

The full details of Woerfel's suspension by EADS's Netherlands-based parent company will have to be released if the action is not to be dismissed as merely an exercise in damage control by a company desperate to protect its international image and reputation.

Without assuming any wrongdoing on the part of the company and any of its officials, it is imperative that EADS spells out urgently what it has seen that has prompted it to take this action given the fact that it has spent months furiously denying that there was anything untoward in the conduct of its officials in this furore.

But, that said, Woerfel's high-profile suspension is of importance to the inquiry only if EADS eventually finds some wrongdoing on the part of its SA MD and his lieutenants.

If it is established that there was indeed sufficient ground for the company to have taken this action, this will clearly have huge implications on the course and outcome of the probe. But then it is not a fait accompli that this will be the outcome.

To that extent temptations to hinge the SA probe on EADS's internal investigation must be resisted. Expectations that Woerfel's suspension will in itself unlock the mystery of suspected shady deals in the arms purchase saga are premature and probably misplaced.

The successful conclusion of this inquiry will not depend on EADS, but rests squarely with the three agencies probing the controversial deal the offices of the national director of public prosecutions, Bulelani Ngcuka, public protector Selby Baqwa and auditor-general Shauket Fakie.

They must now take a more robust approach to the inquiry and shake off perceptions in some quarters that the refusal by government to include the then-judge Willem Heath-led special investigations unit was an endeavour to sweep dirt under the carpet.

It is crucial that justice not just be done in this case, but also be seen to be done, if this perception that government was forced to institute the probe kicking and screaming is to be put to rest.

Meanwhile, time is of the essence. The longer the investigators take to complete the probe the more likely the inquiry is to lose momentum and the less likely the public is to have faith in the process.

The credibility of SA is at stake in the eyes of the international community. So much rests on this probe.  

With acknowledgment to Business Day.