The arms industry is notorious for underhanded deals, skulduggery and secrecy, but we never expected it to take this to the level of hiding the identity of the company's chief executive as Denel has done.

Denel has been shying away from announcing to the media the appointment of Victor Moche as its new boss, ostensibly because authority on the matter resided within the ministry of public enterprises.

But the department, which is the custodian of all state-owned businesses on behalf of the public, also refused to comment.

Moche's appointment was inadvertently publicised by Telkom last month as part of its statement to the shareholders. Be that as it may, Denel has no reason to hide such information since the vacancy was advertised in the first place.

But reliable sources within the company say Moche has been introduced to all staff members and started work in mid-May.

There have been reports that the confusion surrounding Moche's appointment emerged after Denel's deputy chief executive Max Sisulu contested the appointment. It is alleged that Sisulu wanted to have the job for himself and thus felt snubbed when an outsider was appointed in his stead.

Attempts to solicit a comment from him proved fruitless. Given the state of affairs, maybe Jeff Radebe, the minister of public enterprises, should intervene and clear this matter up once and for all.

Denel has far more pressing matters - like finding a replacement to BAE Systems, its former strategic partner - than focusing on petty issues like fighting for positions.

The ball is in Radebe's court to deal with this matter as soon as possible. KP

With acknowledgements to Max Gebhardt and the Business Report.