In the media
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22 October 2013
Bloomberg
Ali Omar Mohamed fled Somalia’s civil war two years ago to seek a better life in South Africa. Now after being robbed at gunpoint and seeing scores of his countrymen murdered in xenophobic violence, he’s ready to leave.
Mohammed, a 21-year-old shopkeeper, is part of a growing tide of immigrants who say they prefer returning to a war zone rather than face the hatred and jealousy they are subject to in South Africa where they’re called “the enemy.”
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22 October 2013
Business Day
Armscor’s project leader for submarines, Rob Vermeulen, stood by his statement describing the preferred German bidder to supply South Africa with modern submarines as a cost-effective contract during his cross-examination at the Seriti commission of inquiry on Monday.
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22 October 2013
Pretoria News
More than 170 foreign nationals in Limpopo whose spaza shops have been closed by police in the past few months - as they do not have trading licences or say they have found it impossible to obtain these from local authorities - have failed in their bid to get the Pretoria High Court to come to their aid.
Judge Natvarlal Ranchod turned down the application by the Somali Association of South Africa and the Ethiopian Community of South Africa and others for an order against the Limpopo Department of Economic Development and the SAPS.
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22 October 2013
Mail & Guardian Online
Displaced residents of the Schubart Park flats in Pretoria central say they are unhappy with the rate at which the City of Tshwane is relocating them following a Constitutional Court order.
On Monday Albert Mashimbye, chairman of the Schubart Park Residential Committee, said some people who were forcibly moved from the dilapidated complex were still out in the cold.
"The timeframe is the major problem – we are not happy. One person who is not allocated [alternative accommodation] is one person too many," said Mashimbye.
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22 October 2013
Mail & Guardian Online
A "one-sided approach" at the arms deal commission is leaving reams of contestable evidence unchecked and unchallenged, arms deal "critics" say.
The commission is divided into two "phases": phase one consists of evidence mainly given by government officials, including the defence department and former ministers. Phase two consists mainly of arms deal "critics" – dubbed as such by evidence leaders who regularly quote from their publicised critiques of the arms deal.
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16 October 2013
I-Net Bridge
State arms procurer Armscor's project manager for submarines, Rob Vermeulen, on Monday refuted claims that South Africa had overlooked an opportunity to purchase cheaper, British-manufactured Upholder/Victoria-class submarines.
He was responding to a question put to him by arms procurement commission evidence leader Sammy Lebala SC, who asked whether there was any truth to critics’ claims that Armscor sidelined the cheaper submarines by opting for an expensive German model due to corruption.
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15 October 2013
The Citizen
Three arms deal campaigners who have been subpoenaed to testify before the Seriti Commission of Inquiry have warned that the credibility of the process was in serious danger unless significant changes were made to the way in which the commission operated.
Former ANC MP Andrew Feinstein, Paul Holden (author of The Arms Deal) and Hennie van Vuuren (former director of the Institute for Security Studies) who are represented by Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) expressed serious concern that the full story of the arms deal might never be made public.
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15 October 2013
Defence Web
The Seriti Commission, which resumed public hearings this week following an adjournment to have certain documents relating to the Strategic Defence Procurement Package (SDPP) declassified, has come under fire from three people closely associated with exposing its dirty side.
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15 October 2013
Mail & Guardian
As the arms deal commission in Pretoria resumes its inquiry this week into the 1999 arms deal, three high-profile witnesses represented by Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) have raised serious concerns about a lack of openness at the commission.
In a statement on Monday, Paul Holden, Hennie van Vuuren and Andrew Feinstein – who have all published books on the arms deal and Feinstein was an ANC MP who resigned over the deal – said the arms deal commission presents a unique opportunity for the full story behind the deal to be uncovered.
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14 October 2013
Sapa
A fully transparent process is required at the Seriti Commission of Inquiry to expose alleged corruption and abuses of power linked to the arms deal, the Right2Know (R2K) campaign said on Monday.
“R2K is concerned by reports of attempts by the Seriti Commission to limit the public's right to know,” the lobby group said in a statement.
“This includes the secrecy surrounding the list of Armscor witnesses and the limited access to witness statements.”
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