The spirited defence of government's role in the R30bn arms deal put up by ministers Trevor Manuel, Alec Erwin and Mosiuoa Lekota before Parliament's public accounts committee cannot be faulted on purely legal grounds.

Of course, cabinet ministers cannot take responsibility for every subcontractor involved in state procurement contracts. And procedures for selecting primary contractors appear sufficiently rigorous to prevent any individual swaying a decision towards contractors who may have offered him or her a lucrative bribe.

The three ministers were, however, being rather disingenuous. It will not be that easy for government to wash its hands of the whole messy business. Not if, as seems clear, the committee's work has implicated at least one senior defence official in directing prospective bidders to offer subcontracts to particular companies, including ones in which members of his immediate family and friends have an interest. Indeed, reports along these lines have been circulating for two years with no corrective action from government.

The members of the cabinet committee which made the final procurement decisions including Erwin and Manual (sic) and chaired by then deputy president Thabo Mbeki could yet help still public suspicions.

They could, as leaders of the African National Congress, offer assurances that the ANC received no funding from any of the winning bidders. They could even consider opening ANC books to the investigators.  

With acknowledgment to Business Day.