The panel leading public hearings in the probe into South Africa's multi-billion rand arms deal on Monday turned down an application for television and radio broadcasts of the proceedings.

Explaining this ruling, panel chairperson Selby Baqwa said: "The principle of transparency cannot be applied in a carte blanche matter."

One consideration was the fact that the presence of television cameras would amount to an invasion of the privacy of witnesses. Another issue was the seriousness of the matter at hand, he said.

Many witnesses due to testify would do so with the permission of the minister of defence. "This indicates the seriousness of the issues we are dealing with," Baqwa said.

'Seriousness of the issues we are dealing with'

Baqwa said none of the three agencies probing the arms deal commonly performed their work in public.

The decision to conduct to conduct a portion of the investigation in public was therefore unprecedented.

"It is necessary to encourage and preserve the confidence and trust which the ordinary citizen - who is also a future potential witness or whistle-blower - has in these agencies."

The legal representatives of the South African Broadcasting Corporation and e.tv asked for a 20 minute adjournment to discuss the ruling with their clients.

The public hearing resumed in the Pretoria High Court on Monday after it was postponed two weeks ago without any evidence being led.

40 and 50 allegations of wrongdoing

The decision to postpone was taken by Baqwa after the senior counsel for the defence department, Michael Kuper, contended the subject matter in the hearing was complicated and required more study and preparation from his team.

Meanwhile, e.tv news reported on Sunday that two forensic auditors, Wally van Heerden and Etienne Smit, had been dropped from the investigation.

Baqwa's spokesperson, Nicolette Teichmann, said one of the men was taken off the probe because he was an auditor for the defence department and faced a conflict of interest.

Three government agencies - the Public Protector, the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions and the Auditor-General's office - are probing between 40 and 50 allegations of wrongdoing in the arms deal at the request of parliament's watchdog public accounts committee, Scopa.

Each is represented on the three-man panel presiding over the hearing.

Baqwa represents his office, that of the Public Protector, while Herman van Zyl represents Auditor-General Shauket Fakie and Silas Ramaite the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

In another development, Scopa chairperson Gavin Woods has indicated that his committee was obliged to continue with its own investigation into the arms deal. 

With acknowledgement to Sapa and Independent Online.