Publication: Cape Argus
Issued:
Date: 2007-03-15
Reporter: Boyd Webb
A-G, NPA chief and Public Protector set to meet
Three big guns
meet tonight to discuss renewed allegations of corruption in the arms deal,
although the re-opening of their 2001 investigation appears
unlikely at this stage.
Auditor-General Terence Nombembe said he,
National Prosecuting Authority head Vusi Pikoli and Public Protector Lawrence
Mushwana would meet to "determine a way forward".
Indications are that
the trio will opt to focus more narrowly on allegations
against the former head of defence acquisitions, Chippy Shaik, which
re-surfaced in the media recently.
"We will be looking at all the requests that have come through asking for an
investigation and then we will decide on a way forward."
He would not
comment on whether this could lead to another Joint Investigating Team (JIT)
probe, similar to the one that cleared the government of any wrong doing.
The November 2001 report, however, fingered Shaik for a conflict of
interest relating to his brother Schabir's involvement with one of the
successful arms contractors.
An internal inquiry found he had also
disclosed confidential information relating to a draft report.
Public
Protector spokesman Charles Phahlane said yesterday that only Shaik's alleged
involvement in alleged corruption might be investigated.
This comes
after Der Spiegel magazine claimed he had received a $3 million payment from one
of the bidders and the DA duly asked the Public Protector to
investigate.
Investigations by law enforcement agencies in Sweden,
Germany and Britain have turned up the heat on local agencies to have another
look at the corruption allegations.
A Swedish anti-corruption unit is
the latest to join its British and German counterparts in investigating
allegations that secret commissions were paid to South Africans to secure arms
deal sales.
In 2001, the British aerospace company BAE Systems, in a
joint venture with Saab of Sweden, sold 24 Hawk jet-trainer aircraft and 28
Gripen fighters to South Africa. Saab, which is 20% owned by BAE, manufactured
the Gripens.
British police are focusing on the R30bn BAE deal from
which eight South African government officials allegedly benefited from by R1bn.
German investigators are looking into a commission of $3m allegedly
secretly paid to Shaik during defence ministry negotiations to buy four warships
for R12bn from the German Frigate Consortium.
Meanwhile, Nombembe and a
delegation from the AG's office appeared before the ad hoc committee reviewing
Chapter Nine institutions at Parliament yesterday morning.
Chairman
Kader Asmal quizzed them on a range of issues, including who audited the AG's
expenditure of its R800 million budget.
Nombembe said their auditors,
BDO Spencer Stuart, had to report to the office's oversight committee, but had
not yet done so. The auditors would be reviewed shortly.
The committee
lauded the AG's office for being the most mature Chapter Nine body structurally and noted it had not required state financial
assistance since 1993. With acknowledgements to Boyd Webb and Cape
Argus.