Publication: Independent Online Issued: Date: 2007-03-15 Reporter:

Chippy Shaik Awaits His Arms Deal Fate

 

Publication 

Independent Online
Date

2007-03-15

Reporter

Staff Reporter

Web Link

 www.iol.co.za

 

As you read this, the SA Navy's new submarine, Charlotte Maxeke, is navigating the rough seas, slowly making its way to South Africa.

The ship was built by a German firm which won a tender that was part of the controversial multibillion-rand arms deal.

Back at home, rough seas also beckon for a man who has played a crucial role in the awarding of the contract to ThyssenKrupp *1.

Shamin "Chippy" Shaik was the chief of acquisition in the Department of Defence. He now faces allegations that he demanded and was paid a R21-million bribe to ensure the success of the ThyssenKrupp bid.

On Thursday, Shaik is the subject of a top-level meeting which involves National Director of Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli, Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana and Auditor-General Terrence Nombembe. The trio have to decide how the allegations against Shaik would be investigated.

In 2001, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), comprising the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Public Protector and the Auditor-General - after a protracted investigation - found there was a conflict of interest with regard to the position held by Shaik because his younger brother Schabir *3 had an interest in the Thomson Group and African Defence Systems, which were also bidding for tenders.

The trio found that Chippy Shaik had declared his interests in December 1998 but continued to take part in the process that ultimately led to the awarding of contracts. "He did not recuse himself properly," they said in a statement.

The JIT also found Shaik had not applied for and did not receive a military security clearance, as required by law.

Until a few months ago, the spotlight on the arms deal had been on Schabir Shaik, who has been convicted of fraud and corruption linked to the arms deal.

But Chippy Shaik did feature in the indictment that the NPA served on Schabir. In the documents, the NPA alleged that Chippy exerted some pressure on French company Thales to choose Schabir's company as a strategic partner *4.

Chippy Shaik also found himself in trouble with the law. He was charged with being in possession of classified cabinet documents, and resigned from the department of defence soon thereafter *5.

But who is Chippy Shaik? He is a member of a prominent Durban family with deep ANC links as well as a history of struggle against apartheid. The Shaik brothers joined the ANC as youngsters and Chippy ended up in jail.

A well-read man, he has a doctorate in engineering *6.

In September 2003 Chippy said he was concerned that the family name was being tainted because of Schabir's trial. "We're guilty by association with being in the arms deal. The fact that our previous history has been in the liberation struggle doesn't help us much."

The Shaik brothers have been involved in many ventures and deals: from procuring arms to manufacturing credit card driving licences to giving financial advice to former deputy president Jacob Zuma.

Faizel is the fifth brother, but he, like their sister Rehana, was not involved in politics.

Their father, Lambie, was born in Pietermaritzburg and sharpened his political activism by serving as a shop steward for the Leather Workers' Union. It was perhaps here that the Shaik brothers had their first taste of struggle politics.

According to reports, Yunis was the first member of the Shaik family to make contact with the ANC in exile, after he and Mo were detained by the apartheid state in 1980. He recruited Mo, Schabir and also Chippy.

The brothers returned home and formed the Mandla Judson Khuzwayo unit - named after an ANC commander who had died in Zimbabwe *7. The unit was tasked with building support for the ANC in civic organisations and trade unions.

Mo, who then had an optometry practice in Durban, joined the ANC's intelligence network and by 1987 he was involved full-time in the spy game.

He was also part of the ANC's Operation Vula, a move to stockpile weapons in the years before the transition to democracy in 1994.

The Charlotte Maxeke is expected to dock in SA on March 20 - perhaps by then Chippy Shaik will know whether he will be investigated for receiving the bribe.

With acknowledgement to Independent Online.


*1       Wrong - ThyssenKrupp Rheinstahl Techniek (TRT) is part of the German Frigate Consortium who sold four frigates, aka patrol corvettes, to the RSA. ThyssennKrupp paid Chippy Shaik US$3 million to ensure that the GFC won the contract. They also paid other parties in the RSA, identity as yet not known, a sum of US$22 million, surely for the same purpose.

In the meantime and at the same time, it is allege that the German Submarine Consortium, headed by Ferrostaal paid "even bigger bribes" to secure the contract for three submarine to the RSA.

An interesting development on the side is that TRT has transmogrified into Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems. Its new Vice President (since 1 October 20006) of International Sales is none other than Rear Admiral (Junior Grade) (freshly retired) Jonathan Edward Gold Kamerman, who resigned as the frigate project officer (Project Officer Project Sitron or POPS) and dived straight through that revolving door despite a clause in the Corvette Umbrella Agreement precluding employment by the supplier of any SANDF, DoD or Armscor personnel for the cooling-off period of 8 years from the effective date *8 or with the written permission from the Chief of the SA Navy, which was never given.


*2      The effective date was about 1 April 2000.


*3      Wrong - not younger brother Schabir, older brother.


*4      Not so much that, but that when there was potential competition for Thomson and ADS, that Chippy used Schabir as an intermediary to Jacob Zuma to clear the way for Thomson and ADS's exclusivity.

In the meanwhile, the foreign combat suite suppliers BAE-SEMA of Britian/France and CelsiusTech of Sweden were feverishly beavering away at their bids for the combat suite. BAE-SEMA would have had their bid on the GFC's table by the second week of January 1999 and CelsiusTech already had their preliminary proposal with GFC. This was in response to GFC's formal request of competitive bids for the Command and Control Segment of the Corvette Combat Suite dated 21 December 1998. Chippy's telphone call to Schabir is on the court record, on the accepted evidence of Bianca Singh, as coming in late December 1998.

Three weeks later a whole team of BAE-SEMA combat system engineers scuttled out of the country by the Friday evening after having received a faxed instruction to do so late on the Wednesday afternoon.

The response of the responsible BAE executive, Roger Barnes, Managing Director of BAE's Sea Systems Division, was that :
"Never in my 17 years in this industry have we (British Aerospace) been told so directly and from someone so high up in the home country that we should withdraw our bid (for the SA Navy's Patrol Corvette Combat Suite)"
I rest the prosecutions's case, M'Lord.


*5      Wrong again - Chippy Shaik did not resign from the Department of Defence soon after having been found guilty of insubordination involving the draft JIT iinvestigation report and associated documents. His tribunal was in December 2001, the verdict was in January 2002, the sentence was a reprimand after which he returned to full duties in his office. He resigned four months later and left five months later. During such time he had every opportunity of covering his own tracks and those of his fellow bumiputerians such as Joe Modise and Fana Hlongwane.

Chippy use to have a very sophisticated, remotely-activated, voice recording system, a la Richard Nixon, in his office there on the 4th floor of the Armscor building in Erasmuskloof.

What happened to all those tapes?


*6      His doctoral thesis makes for a particularly interesting read.


*7      On 1 May 1985, then Chief Representative of the ANC in Zimbabwe, Comrade Judson Diza Khuzwayo, died after his car overturned on his way to Lusaka.

Comrade Judson Diza Khuzwayo had previously been head of MK counter-intelligence operation and/or internal affairs..

There are rumours that Comrade Khuzwayo's demise came about because he knew too much, particularly of doings and screwings in the camps in Angola, Zambia and Tanzania.