COSATU has called on the Hawks to
reverse the decision to stop the probe into the
government's controversial arms deal.
Last week Sowetan reported that Hawks boss Anwa
Dramat had effectively closed the investigation into
the arms deal .
This despite revelations that arms merchants had
spent hundreds of millions bribing politically
connected individuals to win deals.
"Cosatu is extremely concerned at media reports that
the Hawks' investigation into corruption in the arms
deal has been abandoned and demands that if any such
decision has been taken that it be reversed," said
Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven yesterday.
Dramat still has to account to Parliament for his
decision.
He is likely to be called before the standing
committee on public accounts (Scopa) within the next
few weeks to explain why he decided to close the
probe.
On Monday, Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi
said there was no doubt that a lot of corruption
happened in the arms procurement process.
Craven said corruption was a cancer that was
destroying the body of a democratic South Africa.
He said the arms deal was "a test case of our
seriousness in tackling the question."
So far the public's only hope of knowing who
actually unlawfully benefited from the arms deal
lies with Patricia de Lille
She wants to pursue a private prosecution against 28
"politically connected individuals" who she claims
to have evidence of having unlawfully benefited from
the deal.
But the NPA seems to be stalling the process.
De Lille handed the evidence over to the police, who
were supposed to pass the docket on to the NPA. The
NPA should then have decided whether to prosecute or
not.
If it had declined to prosecute, it should have
issued De Lille with a certificate. This would have
allowed her to institute her own private
prosecution.
But the NPA has never officially refused to
prosecute, leaving De Lille in limbo for the past
three years.
NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga did not respond when
Sowetan asked if the NPA would give De Lille a
certificate so that she could go ahead with a
private prosecution.
With acknowledgements to Anna Majavu and Sowetan.
When at first he
could not succeed, The Gatekeeper tried and tried
and tried again.
He will be very handsomely rewarded.
Who is Anwar
Dramat?
Anwar Dramat was sentenced to 12 years on Robben
Island in 1988 for his activities as an ANC
“Umkhonto we Sizwe” underground operative. His name
also emerged in the hearings of the Truth Commission
as a torture victim of security police Captain Jeff
Benzien, who applied for amnesty for the murder of
Ashley Kriel. Kriel died on 15th July 1987. Captain
Benzien was accused of torturing seven suspected
terrorists while they were under police
interrogation. One of these men was Anwar Dramat,
but the evidence could not prove that Anwar Dramat
was ill treated or assaulted by security police.
Captain Benzien was granted amnesty for the unlawful
killing of Ashley Kriel and also for other offences.
Dramat joined the South African Police Service in
1994 at the
age of 26
after serving only 6 years of his sentence,
obviously -- after the ANC came to power. He quickly
progressed through the ranks to become the Head of
Crime Intelligence in the Western Cape in 2003 were
he held the top rank of Deputy Police Commissioner.
Dramat played a pivotal role in ending “Pagad”
gangsterism and taxi violence in the Western Cape.
http://tia-mysoa.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-anti-crime-unit-firmly-under-anc.html
So The Gatekeeper is currently 42 years old and was
appointed as lieutenant -general at around the age
of 40.
A mere whipper snapper.
A lieutenant -colonel at the age of 40 in the SAPF
would be doing extremely well. Lieutenant -General
is just four ranks higher.
A deployed cadre looking after his previous and
current bosses backs.
He has already been very handsomely rewarded.
Interestingly, in the Arms Deal Chippy Shaik was
appointed as Chief of Acquisitions in 1997 at the
age of 37. He had only been in the DoD for 2 years
in some position involving logistics. The post held
the rank of Chief Director equivalent to
major-general. In the shake up after the Arms Deal
the post was upgraded to deputy director-general
equivalent to the rank of lieutenant -general.
Chippy was actually offered to post. He claims he
turned it down as his work in the DoD was complete.
It was - nearly. He still had to stay in the post
for another five months until May 2002 to clear up
the documentation trail.
Another mere whipper snapper.
Another deployed cadre.
Another very handsomely rewarded.
Another whose back has been looked after.
By the Gatekeepers Dramat and Simelane.
Another example of being very handsomely rewarded
was the post of Project Director with the rank of
Rear Admiral (Junior Grade) that was especially
created by Minister of Defence Modise and President
Mbeki for Captain (SAN) Jonny Kamerman who did their
bidding in how Project Sitron was going to be
implemented.
He indeed been very handsomely rewarded.
So much so that the SA Navy is weeping buckets of
tears daily with the enormous costs and massive
technical problems it has inherited after inheriting
the KKK-klas korvette.
In the meantime this Rear Admiral (Junior Grade) has
retired from the SA Navy with his Rear Admiral
(Junior Grade) pension at the ago of 50 and has now
joining the supplier of the KKK-klass korvette being
Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as
Vice-President for International Sales and in direct
contravention of the Corvette Umbrella Agreement.
TKMS in the meantime trot around the world trying to
bribe third world countries like Angola and Nigeria
into buying expensive German frigates and patrol
vessels.
Sound familiar.
Yes?
It sounds familiar because it is familiar.
So much so that the SA Navy must now go out and
purchase another 6 inshore and offshore patrol craft
so that it can mothball the korvettes so that it can
afford to do its primary constitutional and
international duty which is to patrol the country's
coastline, protectorates and exclusive economic
zone.
The SA Navy's primary duty is not to make war with
our neighbours with underpowered warships with
mickey mouse weapons.
The government will not even send our warships to
Somalia to tackle the critical and international
piracy problem there. It has not the political will
to do so. The question is why not?