Former members of Thabo Mbeki's government could be forced to explain the
rationale behind the R47 billion Airbus military freight planes fiasco as
demands for a full-scale probe surge.
There are calls from across the political spectrum for the contract to be
cancelled and for heads to roll after this week's revelation that the cost of
the deal had ballooned from R17bn to an "estimated" R47bn.
Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said it proved President Jacob Zuma's
new government had been "sabotaged by decisions taken by its predecessor".
Vavi demanded the government or Parliament get to the bottom of the "cruel" 2006
deal to buy eight new-generation freight planes for its African peace missions
at such a cost.
An irate Defence and Military Veterans Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said this week
that "some explanation has to be given to cabinet", a reference to the
possibility that those who agreed to the deal - which never went out to tender -
might be called on to explain.
Sisulu was briefed on the deal by her predecessor, Charles Nqakula. She said
that as far as she was aware, none of cabinet's current members had been party
to the decision.
The extent of the government's exposure to the spiralling costs of the contract
emerged in Parliament this week when Armscor CEO Sipho Thomo was subjected to
intense questioning in the national assembly's defence committee, chaired by ANC
MP Nyami Booi.
MPs' interest was piqued by the Auditor-General identifying the R2.9bn so far
spent in pre-payments as possible irregular expenditure.
Sisulu briefed Zuma on Friday in Bloemfontein, when the defence force marked
South Africa's 10 years of peacekeeping missions in Africa.
Unlike the C130s used currently, the
Airbus A400Ms are large enough to ferry Oryx helicopters without their rotor
heads having to be removed and reassembled *1*3. But
production delays have postponed delivery by four years to 2016, and costs are
rising.
Sisulu was adamant this week that the Zuma
administration did not want "another arms deal"
scandal *4.
The outcome of negotiations with Airbus Military on the future of the deal would
have to be taken to cabinet for approval.
Facing unprecedented revenue shortfalls and with the economy in the grip of a
recession, the government is caught between its duty to meet the contractual
obligations agreed by the Mbeki government and whether the planes are affordable
or even necessary.
"Right now we are talking in a cloud. We are talking in a vacuum and what would
be infuriating cabinet is that they actually have not been briefed," Sisulu
said.
She was referring to the fact that a final price for the planes has yet to be
determined, given that Airbus has been hit with delays - which offers the
government a measure of bargaining power. The "very delicate" negotiations under
way pivot on whether South Africa can terminate the contract - and how big a
price will have to be paid.
For the new government, explaining a multibillion-rand expenditure on military
equipment destined for use outside the country's borders will be a hard
political sell. Pressure is now mounting for a thorough investigation to be led
by Parliament.
DA shadow defence minister David Maynier has said several line ministers were
involved. The contract also allows South Africa to be a partner in the
struggling A400M Airbus programme, which is spearheaded by a European
consortium.
Maynier blasted Sisulu for not sharing the "massive risk" posed by the deal with
Parliament's defence committee and accused her of covering up.
Sisulu said she had intended briefing the cabinet and Parliament, but only once
negotiations had been concluded. She is due to meet the defence committee on
October 28, and will now be briefing the cabinet much earlier.
Cosatu is also calling for a full inquiry. The labour federation's sights are
set on the defence minister at the time, Mosiuoa Lekota, now president of Cope,
and his erstwhile cabinet counterpart Alec Erwin, who was trade and industry
minister before taking over public enterprises.
"Lekota denounces corruption, yet he and Erwin did nothing to investigate these
transactions, which at best involved blatant irregularities and profligate
misuse of public money and, at worst, were criminal acts.
"There appears to have been a culture of impunity in government departments in
which certain people were untouchable," Cosatu said.
Lekota declined to answer any questions about the deal. He said he had yet to be
approached by the new administration for an explanation.
But he defended the country's need for the aircraft.
"Being a member of the United Nations on this continent, South Africa remains
the country contributing most to peace missions and we need the transportation
capacity," he said.
Military experts have questioned whether the Airbus A400M is the best choice
however, when other cheaper heavy lifters can do the same job.
Asked whether the country needed all eight to 14 planes it originally negotiated
for, Lekota said the intention had been to stagger their introduction as the
country needed them.
A further R1.1bn prepayment has been frozen, pending the outcome of negotiations
and a decision by the ultimate arbiter, Zuma.
But Armscor's Thomo said this week the window of opportunity to pull out
extended no later than next month.
Thomo's position is now in question. Sisulu was incandescent with rage that he
undermined the government's bargaining power by citing the R47bn. She said it
was important for South Africa to retain its credibility as a negotiator in good
faith and also to preserve diplomatic relations - all put at risk by Thomo's
"blundering".
Airbus Military said the R47bn was "exaggerated", but could not give a figure
ahead of the conclusion of the talks.
Armscor's general manager of acquisitions Sipho Mkwanazi said the R47bn included
estimates for the full maintenance and life-cycle cost of the planes, spare
parts, retention of skills and the SANDF having to pay for private freight
charters for six years while it waits for delivery.
With acknowledgements to Christelle
Terreblanche, Gaye Davis and Cape Times.
*1This fact was
clearly given to the authors of this article as some kind of military
justification for the expenditure of R100 billion of taxpayers;' money.
Because that is what buying these Loadmasters will cost in respect of lifecycle
cost of ownership.
The R17 billion acquisition cost and R30 billion maintenance cost is just a
fraction of the true cost of ownership.
Firstly there's fuel; secondly there's local SAAF maintenance and support (the
R30 billion will be pre-planned servicing at either EADS or Denel Aviation),
SAAF operating costs (there are pilots, aircrew, ground crew, etc.), weapon
systems *2, communication systems, etc.
*2Yes, sure this is an airlifter.
But it is a strategic airlifter costing several billions of Rands each.
No government and no Air Force will fly this expensive beast into a hot zone
without it having at least a self-defence weapons suite, even if this were only
radar and infra-red detection systems and passive or active decoys.
These days it is really easy and inexpensive to shoot down a jet aircraft,
especially when it comes into land at a jungle airstrip over hostile territory.
And in hostile airspace it's a dead duck.
So in addition to passive self-defence there might even be active self-defence
in the form of anti-air missiles.
An it will surely get escorted by air-defence fighter jets on certain missions.
Otherwise it will surely mean the loss of a very expensive aircraft, its aircrew
and its very expensive payload (otherwise why use the aircraft at all).
*3But back to the brain baffling bullshit.
Do we need a giant airlifter than can carry an Oryx helicopter that is
immediately deployable?
At the commencement of one of the most intense periods of combat ever undertaken
by the SADF, that being in April 1988 when SWAPO violated the SWA ceasefire
agreement and invaded northern SWA with 300 special force troops and after the
SAAF had withdrawn to the RSA, the SAAF got back its combat helicopters to the
forward operational area within a period of a few dozen hours using its C130s
and C160s.
The SAAF disassembled the blades and rotors of these helicopters in Pretoria,
transported them back to Ondangwa at a snot spoed and re-assemble them there.
They were back in combat action in a matter of hours allowing the SAAF combat
teams and ground-based infantry of 101 Battalion and the SAP's Koevoet to kill
289 insurgents in just over two weeks.
As an aside, it is mainly the graves of the bodies of these SWAPO fighters which
are being uncovered to this day.
But as far as military airlift in the operational area south of the equator is
concerned, where there's a will, there's a way.
And I doubt that way needs to cost us R100 billion and more.
And much north of the Orange River and Limpopo River is not the SANDF's
operational area anyway.
*4If anyone really wants to see another current arms deal
scandal, look no further the Ground-Based Air Defence System (GDADS) currently
being run as Projects Guardian, Protector, etc.
Like the A400M Loadmaster acquisition, it was done without tendering procedures.