Defence spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi responds:

"The issues surrounding the alleged loss of military weapons needs to be addressed in its proper context. The Department of Defence inherited outdated logistical systems during the migration from the old SA Defence Force to the SA National Defence Force.

"The department has since established the requisite accounting procedures, to ensure compliance with the principles of good governance and administration.

"The rigorous implementation of this mechanism has led to the discovery of certain accounting deviations in the domains of weapons and equipment, some of which predate the 1970s and 1980s.

"The SANDF has put in place proper logistic accounting systems to ensure that weapons are recorded per serial number. All lost weapons are reported to the Military Police and the SA Police Service. The Department of Defence co-operates with the SAPS in identifying lost Department of Defence weapons that may have been used to commit crimes.

"Weapon permits are issued and renewed by designated officers in compliance with the prescripts of the law and Department of Defence policies. Military Police and counter-intelligence reports are scrutinised before issuing permits.

"The department is committed to ensuring that all contraventions against the principles of good gover-nance are eradicated, and will thus not hesitate to implement appropriate disciplinary measures as required."

With acknowledgements to Sam Mkhwanazi and The Mercury.