Publication: Mail and Guardian
Issued:
Date: 2007-01-12
Reporter: Editorial
| Publication |
Mail and Guardian
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| Date |
2007-01-12
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Reporter
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Editorial
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Web Link
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www.mg.co.za
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It
was the springtime of South African democracy when BAE Systems came a-wooing,
and it pressed its suit the only way it knows -- by
sluicing large sums of cash through the offshore accounts of people close to
power.
How handsomely its investments have paid off, now that the early
blush has faded! What, after all, is R1-billion in dodgy
commissions compared to the sale -- for between R20-billion and
R30-billion -- of the jets now ripping through our blue heavens? And how painful
are allegations of impropriety against a former government official like Fana
Hlongwane when cushioned by a R14-million
retainer?
As for Joe Modise, who blatantly
manipulated tender rules to favour BAE and tried to benefit from offset
contracts -- well, he's gone wherever old soldiers go, leaving only a tainted
legacy.
But that must not be the end of it.
An investigation by
the Guardian, and the request for legal assistance by British
investigators which we report on this week, make it abundantly clear that BAE's
sophisticated front masks a deep reliance on corrupt
practices.
The company's operatives got stuck into South Africa
as early as 1992. And when they realised they needed to get
closer to the African National Congress (ANC), they promised millions to
the Umkhonto weSizwe Veterans' Association and engaged members of Modise's
family to lobby for favourable treatment. Sharp questions are now being asked
about where that R1-billion in "commission" really ended
up. Of course, the company doesn't think we deserve answers as well as
warplanes for our money.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair last month
shut down an investigation by Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into bribes
paid to members of the Saudi royal family while securing BAE's al-Yamamah deal.
Is he now telling the company's executives not to worry about the SFO's probe
into the company's South African activities?
Our own government seems to
be hoping for such a reprieve, dragging its heels on
a request for assistance from British investigators and shuffling the case
between agencies.
Fortunately, South Africa lacks the diplomatic and
economic leverage that the Saudis can exert on a prime minister preoccupied by
war in the Gulf. Surely, he is unlikely to risk fresh outrage by meddling in the
SFO investigation. Nor will the German government halt the
probe by Düsseldorf prosecutors into bribery allegations against the frigate
supplier Thyssen.
At a time when so much is going right in South
Africa -- thanks to ANC policies -- much of what is going wrong, notably the
party's brutal war of succession and the ever-growing nexus between business and
politics, has its roots in the arms
deal.
Until the serious allegations against the primary
contractors and their local agents are thoroughly investigated, and we know
where the money went, Jacob Zuma's supporters will feel they can justly claim he
is being unfairly singled out.
A thorough investigation may temporarily
destabilise the ANC and the country, but they should be robust enough to
withstand some turbulence. The greater worry is that our institutions will be permanently weakened by the distortions
forced on them by a cover-up.
We cannot leave it to the British
police to shield us against that danger. Our president, Cabinet and prosecuting authorities must take the necessary action.
With acknowledgements to Mail & Guardian.