Publication: The Witness Issued: Date: 2007-11-07 Reporter: Sue Segar Reporter: Sapa

de Lille: Mandela Fund Got Arms Deal Pay-Off

 

Publication 

The Witness
Date

2007-11-07

Reporter

Sue Segar, Sapa

Web Link

www.witness.co.za

  

Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille has claimed that a company involved in South Africa's controversial multi-billion rand arms deal made payments to the African National Congress, the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and the Community Development Foundation.

But Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, who is also the ANC's chairman, vehemently denied the allegations.

De Lille, a long-time critic of the arms deal, told the National Assembly she can confirm that the German arms company Thyssen-Krupp paid each of the organisations R500 000 on January 29, 1999.

De Lille said the money was paid into an account in Switzerland at the Credit Swiss First Boston Bank.

In a member's statement to the National Assembly, De Lille said this illustrates the importance of having an act of Parliament that will regulate private political funding.

Thyssen-Krupp provided a large amount of the arms acquired in South Africa's deal.

Lekota called on De Lille to repeat her allegations outside Parliament where she is not protected by parliamentary privilege.

But the ID leader defended her claims, saying she "expected such denials".

De Lille said she has handed over her information ­ known as the "De Lille Dossier" to the National Prosecuting Authority and was subpoenaed twice on her information.

"The information containted *1 in this dossier became the record of the court in the Durban High Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein and the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg," De Lille said.

"This, as we know, led to the successful prosecutions of Tony Yengeni and Schabir Shaik. The failure of the government to investigate all the allegations in the De Lille Dossier led to Germany and the UK presenting new evidence."

De Lille said by naming the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, she did not intend to cloud Mandela's name. "This revelation does not reflect on the character of Tata Nelson Mandela, who I respect and love and I will never insult him. Minister Lekota's assertion to the contrary hurt me deeply, even more so because I myself am a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund,"

Turn to page 2 *2

With acknowledgements to Sue Segar, Sapa and The Witness.


*1      An interesting, if Freudian, slip.


*2      And where is Page 2, Mr Witness Editor, Mr Witness Webmaster?