C²I² MANAGING director Richard Young, one of the losing bidders in the arms deal, has filed an application in the Pretoria High Court compelling auditor-general Shauket Fakie to comply with a November 2002 court order giving Young access to an abbreviated version of the Joint Investigation Team report.

Fakie has until July 8 to respond or face a month's imprisonment for contempt of court.

Young said he already had applied for a court hearing should Fakie not supply the documents in time. Fakie, however, may buy more time by opposing the application.

More than six months ago Young won a court action compelling Fakie to give him documents from an investigation into the arms deal by the auditor-general, national public prosecutions director Bulelani Ngcuka and public protector Selby Baqwa. After an appeal, which was withdrawn, and various delays by government, Young finally received a small portion of the documents he knew to exist.

In terms of the judgment, the auditor-general was ordered to give Young access to all draft versions of the team's report to Parliament and selected documents from audit files containing technical information, tender documentation, correspondence with potential suppliers and the minutes of various committees and boards which assessed the acquisition process.

Fakie was entitled, however, to refuse access to documents covered under the Promotion of Access to Information Act providing he provided a list of the documents and a reason for his objection.

According to Young, these requirements were not met. He received sections of a draft report from the public prosecutions director and sections of a draft report from the auditor-general's office.

In Fakie's affidavit to the High Court, he had admitted that each of the three investigating agencies produced draft reports that were then consolidated into the final report, yet none of these drafts were listed in the schedule of documents which Fakie was required to provide.

With acknowledgement to Chantelle Benjamin, Tim Cohen and Business Day.