The history of South Africa's multi-billion rand arms deal is one of unsound, highly contestable and irresponsible government decision-making, the Democratic Alliance's Raenette Taljaard said.on Tuesday.

The deal showed up an "arrogant and unaccountable" government, she said during debate in the National Assembly on committee reports on the findings on the investigation into the defence procurement package

"It is the history of a process that exposed the lack of executive accountability to Parliament.

"It is the legacy of prioritising the wrong non-existent enemies and wars when the war on poverty and Aids is and should be our highest priority national emergency.

"We cannot fight poverty and Aids with corvettes, submarines, helicopters and fighter planes."

Taljaard said the investigation -- conducted by the Auditor-General, Public Protector and National Directorate of Public Prosecutions --indicated South Africa had "damaged institutions".

The report was nothing more than a sad footnote to what should have been a profound encounter with accountable governance.

She questioned the independence of the probe, citing meetings with the Auditor-General before and during the investigation and the fact that private auditors contracted to assist the agency had links to some of the entities investigated.

Taljaard said Tuesday's debate was not about weapons, but about the integrity of the country's institutions and the failure of its democracy.

"It is about all of us and whether we can fulfil the promise to monitor what the executive does and investigate and correct that which in any democracy goes wrong."

The African National Congress had used the deal to enrich itself, a fact that the investigation had largely glossed over.

"In this deal ANC Inc. and MK (Mkhonto we Sizwe) Inc. succumbed to the profligacy of self-enrichment above ethical conduct.

"In a world littered with brokers where commissions, fees and party payments are the common currency of the trade it is a staggering omission... for the JIT (joint investigation team) Report not to have probed any party donations to the ANC and to not even have posed the question as to whether South Africa had to pay any commission fees to arms brokers.

"This is the oil that greases the global arms industry. Instead of probing it and scrutinising any role it may have played in securing prime or sub-contracts our JIT failed to pose the question," she said.

With acknowledgement to Raenette Taljaard and Sapa.