Publication: Cape Argus Issued: Date: 2006-08-17 Reporter: Sapa Reporter:

I Met Thint Arms Dealer, Admits Pahad

 

Publication 

Cape Argus

Date

2006-08-17

Reporter

Sapa

Web Link

www.capeargus.co.za

 

Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad has been reminded that he too had met with an official from French arms company Thomson CSF.

"Arising from reports in weekend newspapers and subsequent media inquiries, in good faith I requested my office to verify whether I had met with a representative of Thomson CSF," said Pahad in a statement.

"My office has informed me that such a meeting, with Mr Alain Thetard, did occur. This was on February 23 1999 *1, when I was deputy minister. I have no recollection of the discussion, though it would be normal for contacts with persons across a wide spectrum of society routinely to take place *2."

Thomson is now called Thales and its South African subsidiary is Thint, which Thetard represented.

The Sunday Times reported that President Thabo Mbeki and Pahad had met officials from Thint and that the meeting allegedly related to the awarding of the Corvette Combat Suite contract.

Mbeki has told parliament he cannot "recall" any meeting with Thint.

The Sunday Times said prosecutors had questioned ambassador to France, Barbara Masakela, who had reportedly set up the 1998 meeting.

Thint is facing corruption charges with Jacob Zuma over an alleged R500 000-a-year bribe to the former deputy president.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and Cape Argus.


*1       The verified date of the meeting confirms means that the meeting took place some three months into a thirteen month contract negotiation phase. The preferred suppliers of the prime equipment were announced on 17 November 1998 and the contracts were signed on 3 December 1999. Mbeki's one meeting with Thomson-CSF took place on 17 December 1998. The period between 1 February 1999 and 26 May 1999 was one of the most sensitive, toughest periods of contract negotiation in the entire arms deal. During this period the price ceiling for the corvette combat suite rose from R1,47 billion in 1997 Rands to R1,8 billion in 1998 Rands, then and unchallenged Thomson-CSF/ADS made their first offer in February 1999 at a staggering R3,9 billion in 1998 Rands. Between February and April 1999 the corvette project team reduced the technical requirements of the corvette combat suite by about half in order to get the price down to R2,3 billion (Thomson-CSF still unchallenged), but during late April/May the DoD accepted Thomson-CSF's final price of R2,599 billion in 1998 Rands.

At this stage the State was meant only to be dealing with the preferred bidder, the GFC through the International Offers Negotiating Team (IONT) led by Jayendra Naidoo and the corvette project team led by then Capt Johnny Kamereman.

According to the government, the entire acquisition process was meant to have been ring-fenced from lobbying.


*2      And Essop Pahad has the temerity to pronounce his secret meeting with Thomson-CSF as "normal".

Like the similar conduct of his boss Mbeki, it is anything but normal, it is highly irregular and possibly criminal.

In all likelihood, Pahad's meeting with Alain Thetard on 23 February 1999 was a follow-up to Mbeki's meeting on 17 December 1998.

Additionally, it is highly probably that Pahad had more than one secret meeting with Thomson-CSF, one when he was probably unaccompanied and another when he was merely another participant.

Likewise, Mbeki had more than one meeting with Thomson-CSF, the first in June 1998, the second on 17 December 1998 and possibly one or two more meetings during the period 1 February 1999 and end June 1999.