Cape Town — The chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the secreatry (sic) of defence are to be precluded from serving on the board of the arms procurement giant Armscor to prevent potential conflicts of interest.

Parliament’s defence committee yesterday approved two amendments to the Armscor Act, passed by Parliament last year, that will remove both the head of the defence force and the secretary for defence (the top civilian official in the defence department) from the Armscor board.

A conflict of interest between the then head of procurement at the defence department, Chippy Shaik, and his connection with bidding companies close to his brother, Schabir Shaik, lies at the heart of many allegations around the R53bn arms deal.

The role played by Armscor in the deal has also been questioned following government’s November 1999 announcement that it would buy planes, helicopters, corvettes and submarines over a 12-year period.

Moves to bring in these amendments predate the recent conviction of Shaik for fraud and corruption and the decision to prosecute former deputy president Jacob Zuma on two counts of corruption.

In a letter to the committee, tabled yesterday, requesting the exclusion of the secretary, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said the original Armscor Bill of 2004 had provided for the two officials to be left off of the Armscor board. This was because a potential conflict of interest existed where the SANDF chief was able to determine the requirements of the force as well as the supplier who should provide them, he said.

Lekota said that when Parliament approved the bill last year, however, it was decided not to exclude the two officials. “After cabinet had approved the amendment I became aware that the secretary for defence is in a similar position to the chief of the SANDF,” the defence minister said in the letter.

“The secretary for defence, if he continues to sit on the board of Armscor, cannot be accountable for ensuring the efficient and effective utilisation of funds the department transfers to Armscor and also be accountable in terms of his membership of the board. It is inappropriate for the secretary for defence to be both referee and player.”

Committee chairman Kader Asmal put Lekota’s request to the committee. The amendment was approved unanimously.

African National Congress MP Mnyamezeli Booi said that the SANDF chief and the defence secretary should “lean back and take a sober view and they cannot do that if the are part of the process”.

The changes now need to be approved by the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.

With acknowledgements to Wyndham Hartley and the Business Day.