The South African Communist Party (SACP) yesterday called on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to be “pro-active” and to “get to the bottom” of the latest allegations about the circumstances surrounding tender processes in SA’s controversial multibillion-rand arms deal.

This follows reports in the German publication Der Spiegel this week that in 2001 the Dusseldorf state prosecutor had received a letter from SA that claimed that in 1999 a top South African politician received millions, via Switzerland, for his assistance in the deal.

The letter sparked an investigation in Germany. The spotlight has been turned on companies that allegedly paid bribes relating to SA’s arms deal.

In its statement, the SACP said it was “extremely concerned and disturbed” about the latest reports that had surfaced.

“The SACP also calls upon the NPA to be seized with these new allegations, and proactively approach its German counterparts towards a thorough and conclusive investigation,” the party said.

The NPA released a statement this week saying the prosecuting authority had not been approached by German prosecutors to help investigate.

The NPA has in the past earned the wrath of the SACP and the Congress of South African Trade Unions, which accused it of conducting a selective anticorruption campaign targeting particular people in the African National Congress (ANC).

Axed deputy president Jacob Zuma is facing corruption charges following the conviction of his former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, on counts of corruption and fraud.

The SACP, an ANC ally, has become the latest organisation to join opposition parties, including the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Independent Democrats (ID), which have called for fresh investigations into the arms deal in the light of the investigation being carried out in Germany.

Presidential spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga, however, dismissed the report and said it was designed to embarrass President Thabo Mbeki, who is on a working visit to Germany. “The intentions behind all these moves so close to the president’s visit to Germany cannot escape anybody with an average IQ,” he said.

The allegations were first raised by ID leader Patricia de Lille in September 1999, when she brought a motion in Parliament calling for an investigation into the arms deal.

This week, De Lille said she hoped the German investigation would provide answers to the questions government was “not willing” to answer.

DA spokesman Eddie Trent called for a judicial commission of inquiry into the arms deal, with powers to subpoena witnesses. Such an inquiry would stand the best chance to “save” the South African public from any later “shock discoveries”, he said.

With acknowledgement to Karima Brown and Business Day.