PRETORIA. – Dr. Richard Young moet die meer as 100 000 bladsye dokumentasie waaroor hy ’n Krygkor-getuie voor die Seriti-kommissie wil kruisondervra, binne vyf dae self aan die kommissie lewer.

In ’n aansoek om Young te dwing om die dokumente bloot te lê en homself waarskynlik sodoende te inkrimineer, het regter Willie Seriti gister gesê dit is totaal onrealisties om aan Young die vier weke toe te staan wat hy versoek het.

Die stryd oor die kruisondervraging van Krygkor se Frits Nortjé, projekbestuurder van die fregatprogram, het verlede jaar begin.

Volgens adv. Richard Solomon, namens Krygkor, bestaan die vermoede dat Young met dokumente sit wat hy nie veronderstel is om te hê nie juis weens die geheime klassifikasie daarvan.

Young het die kommissie al vyf keer gevra om die dokumente vir sy kruisondervraging te verskaf. Sodoende kan hy dit in die ope plaas.

Adv. Simmy Lebala, een van die getuienisleiers, het aan Seriti gesê Nortjé kan nie vir die eerste keer onder kruisondervraging met die gegewens in Young se dokumente gekonfronteer word nie.

Daarom het Solomon gister die aansoek voor die kommissie gebring dat Seriti beveel dat Young afskrifte van die dokumente aan die kommissie verskaf pleks van andersom.

Volgens hom het Young aangedui dit gaan hom meer as R1 miljoen kos om die 100 000 bladsye te reproduseer en dit gaan boonop minstens vier weke duur om te doen.

Volgens Solomon was Nortjé verlede jaar al gereed om te getuig, maar sy getuienis word telkens uitgestel om Young se versoeke te akkommodeer.

Die afgelope week het Young nóg 1 065 dokumente aangevra en dít, meen Solomon, is nou eens te erg. Volgens Solomon het Young die dokumente in ’n elektroniese formaat. Hy het dit trouens al vryelik aan joernaliste beskikbaar gestel, al is dit geklassifiseer.

Hy kan die dokumente dus in dieselfde elektroniese formaat aan die kommissie verskaf om tyd en geld te spaar.

Volgens ingeligtes is Young nou met die rug teen die muur, want dien hy geheime dokumente in, kan hy vervolg word omdat hy nie veronderstel is om sulke dokumente te hê nie.

Young se maatskappy was een van die tenderaars vir die databus van die fregatte se gevegsuite. Thales het dié kontrak gesluit omdat hy ’n bewese rekord gehad het en Young se produk nog ongetoets was.

Young het kontrakwerk van sowat R300 miljoen uit die wapentransaksies gekry.

With acknowledgement to Erika Gibson en Die Burger.

It is truly breathaking to read an article deriving from a courtroom in a legal matter which contains so many outrageous lies and defamation.

Starting from the end: my company received contract work of R300 million in the Arms Deal.

It was R33 million all told in 1999 Rands.

I lost the IMS bid for which I claimed R149 million in 2005 Rands.

Then I requested a further 1 065 documents last week.

Actually I discovered 1 065 documents the week before last.

I have requested from the DoD and Armscor via the APC some 98 documents during the last 8 month in six sets. Of these I have just a couple, but which are either incomplete, not unsevered or not fully legible (each instance of which I have fully, formally and individually described to the APC).

Then that I am actually holding classified document unlawfully obtained.

As far as I am aware all of the classified documents I have regarding this matter have been declassified and I have no documents that I have unlawfully obtained.

Then this pointy dude accuses me of giving classified documents to the press.

That is a serious allegation.

Has he and his mates like Moe and Chippy been monitoring my emails for the last 14 years?

He might just see me in court for defamation.

Pure anus.

Then the pointy thing says I have all the documentation in electronic format.

How can he attest to that without knowing and contrary to what I have stated to the APC?

In any case and after a physical count it's about 31 700 pages that the DoD, Armscor, AG and PP have given to me under PAIA in  paper form.

Now I must scan all these documents into PDF form and individually encrypt the classified documents passwords.

For free.

And in five days.

That's not four weeks of work, but twelve weeks of work.

I have already formally discovered to the APC 1 065 documents consisting of over 47 000 pages.
 
But Armscor set up and then cancelled a meeting to view and copy the documents and instead demanded 23 specific documents consisting of 1 290 pages and four generic documents consisting of about 40 000 documents.
 
I have no obligation to make copies, whether paper or scanned, for either the APC or Armscor for free. That takes time and money and they are obliged to pay for that.

But most strangely Armscor is requesting public domain (including transcripts of the Public Protector Arms Deal hearings in 2001) and other documents (including transcripts of Arms Deal interviews with DoD and Armscor witnesses by the Scorpions and Auditor-General in 2001) from me, as well as documents it has previously issued to me as well as correspondence I have sent to the DoD's legal representatives being the State Attorney. I have no obligation to furnish a government party with these documents that the APC can and should acquire itself.

I have fully complied with Rule 35 of the Uniform Rules of the High Court regarding discovery.

In the meantime Armscor has discovered only about 10% of the documents that I have been requesting for nearly a year.

This is an absolute farce that has been turned around to my infinite prejudice.

But a lesson learned is that man alone cannot fight judges, teams lawyers and functionaries and government organisations with pockets deeply lined with taxpayers' money.

That'll consume all that I have left of the 20% average NP that I got from all the honest work that I got out of the Armscor Deal.