Other parties want former defence minister Joe Modise scrutinized.

THE United Democratic Movement (UDM) has recommended that the R43bn arms deal probe be gazetted and that its terms of reference be altered to deal with the arms deal in its entirety, and not just with the subcontractors. The suggestions are made in an open letter to the offices of the auditor-general, the public protector and the directorate of public prosecutions.

The move coincides with a media report that has raised political parties' ire further leading to the Democratic Alliance (DA) also asking the prosecuting authorities to investigate former defence minister Joe Modise.

The Sunday Independent reported at the weekend that a company headed by Modise has been contracted to work on the Coega industrial development zone in the Eastern Cape. The zone is strongly tied to the R4,5bn submarine purchase that is part of the controversial arms deal, according to the Public Service Accountability Monitor. The organisation monitors transparency and accountability in the public sector.

UDM leader Bantu Holomisa says in his letter the probe must go beyond the examination of subcontracting procedures and "cover the entire procurement transaction including the main contractors". Holomisa wants to know what prompted the cabinet committee, which gave the deal the goahead, to opt to buy weapons from British Aerospace.

This was done, he says, in the face of advice from the defence and arms procurement negotiating team not to do so. He says the cabinet subcommittee chaired by President Thabo Mbeki needs to be scrutinised in order to bring clarity to its role in the arms deal.

"It apparently positioned itself as the tender board' in the allocation of contracts." There is a need to "empower" the investigating agencies with the same authority given to the special investigating unit, headed by then judge Willem Heath.

Holomisa describes one of those powers as the ability to cancel irregular contracts. He wants to know if any money was paid to individuals or political groups by tendering firms to facilitate the granting of contracts to themselves. He cites as an example the case of British Aerospace, which he says paid the African National Congress (ANC) R5m just before the awarding of tenders.

Simultaneously, the DA said yesterday it had requested the national director of public prosecutions, Bulelani Ngcuka, to probe the interests of former defence minister Joe Modise.

The Public Service Accountability Monitor notes in a chronology of events leading to the approval of the arms deal, that Modise seemed to have preempted findings on some of its viability aspects.

Modise had signed a draft agreement with the German Submarine Consortium to purchase three submarines for R4,5bn even before the affordability team had presented its findings.

Holomisa wants an investigation into "the estimated R4bn ANC members who own subcontracted companies in the arms procurement deal, will earn".

Attempts to contact Modise last night proved fruitless.  

With acknowledgement to Business Day.