First non-governmental witness disputes earlier testimonies of prominent figures Prominent figures in South Africa's multi-billion rand arms deal were on Monday accused of misrepresenting facts related to the process to procure the strategic defence package.

They included head of acquisition in the Defence Department Chippy Shaik, former Corvette programme manager Frits Nortje, and Corvette project officer Johnny Kamerman, who has since been promoted to Rear-Admiral.

The allegations were made in Pretoria by Communications Computer Intelligence Integration Systems (CCII) managing director Richard Young, the first witness outside government to testify in the public hearings into South Africa's arms deal.

He also disputed earlier testimony in several respects.

It was, for example, difficult to believe evidence by cabinet ministers that the government had nothing to do with the awarding of subcontracts, Young said.

He contends there were irregularities in the awarding of a R40 million tender for information management systems (IMS) used in the four Corvette ships South Africa bought under the arms package.

CCII, a Cape Town-based defence information technology company, was named the preferred supplier of these systems, Young claims. The tender was, however, later awarded to French company Detexis.

Detexis is the sister company of African Defence Systems (ADS), of which arms acquisition head Chippy Shaik's brother, Schabir, is a shareholder and director.

Young said Chippy Shaik misrepresented facts when he told Parliament's Public Accounts committee that CCII had acknowledged its systems needed further development.

Shaik also erred when he told the committee that CCII's IMS was a "unique technology" and "that in fact it is a technology and not a product".

Young told the panel: "This statement misrepresents the true facts. The IMS consists almost entirely of an integrated set of commercial off-the-shelf products."

Shaik also told Scopa that CCII had been asked for a performance guarantee but refused to give it.

"This is completely untrue," Young testified. "We were never asked for such a guarantee, either verbally or in writing."

Young also said Kamerman was "incorrect" in his replies to questions about price audits.

The hearings were delayed in the morning by legal wrangling after Adam Pitman, for Young, complained that ADS had threatened his client with legal action with regard to his testimony.

Proceedings continued after lawyers for the two sides agreed that Young's evidence was unlikely to prejudice ADS. Young's testimony - which in parts was of a highly technical nature - comprised a typed document of more than 70 pages.

He was about halfway through when the hearings were adjourned until Tuesday.

With acknowledgement to the Natal Witness.