English Translation for : Ouditeur-Generaal "Sit op Verslae om Kabinetslid te Beskerm

Mr Shauket Fakie, Auditor-General (AG), is protecting someone in the cabinet by not making available a copies of the draft reports of the arms investigation, says Dr Richard Young, managing director of C²I².

The company lost out on a multimillion rand contract in the arms deal after a risk premium was added to the tender, even though the company had been chosen as the preferred supplier.

Young is of the opinion that because Thabo Mbeki appointed Fakie as Auditor-General while Mbeki was at the helm of the arms transactions, Fakie cannot make independent decisions regarding the arms investigation.

According to Young, reliable sources had warned him about this.

Young is not satisfied with Fakie’s reasons for not providing him with the documents. He reasons that this is his right according to the Promotion of Access to Information Act.

Fakie stated in a letter to the company that they are asking for too many documents. The AG’s office apparently doesn’t have the resources available for this.

The documents were given to the AG confidentially and contain sensitive information about South Africa’s defence requirements.

Young’s attorneys will appeal to the audit commission which is under the chairmanship of Dr Pallo Jordan.

"I don’t care how long it takes. We will get the documents in a legal manner."

He also offered to pay the salary of someone to separate the confidential documents from those that he is requesting.

In accordance with the law, Young first needs to follow all internal procedures before asking the High Court for a court order to get the documents.

Young has threatened the government with huge claims due to his loss in the tender process of the arms deal.