Arms probe questioning inadequate, say critics

Two of the arms deal’s fiercest critics expressed concern on Thursday about the flow of statements that has put limitations on their ability to cross-examine witnesses.

On Thursday, former African National Congress MP Andrew Feinstein and arms deal researcher Hennie van Vuuren said that the questioning of witnesses at the commission so far had been inadequate, and failed to address a number of issues.

The commission, chaired by Judge Willie Seriti, is investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and irregularities in the acquisition of arms for the South African National Defence Force.

Mr Feinstein and Mr Van Vuuren spoke about their engagement with the commission, to which they are witnesses, in a briefing in Pretoria.

Mr Feinstein, Mr Van Vuuren and another arms-deal researcher, Paul Holden, last week refused to cross-examine former trade and industry minister Alec Erwin because arms-deal contracts had not been made available to a legal team from Lawyers for Human Rights.

Mr Van Vuuren said that the problem of accessing witness statements had extended to obtaining crucial documents.

Since February last year, Mr Van Vuuren said they had requested 11 batches of crucial documents.

"We have been given access to one, and that happened last week," Mr Van Vuuren said, referring to the affordability report of the arms deal, which had been prepared in 1999.

Mr Van Vuuren said that some of the documents they sought included reports concerning offsets and all the arms contracts.

Challenges — postponements and senior members of the commission resigning — would not stop them from ensuring the Arms Procurement Commission uncovered the truth.

He said that they believed that, despite being plagued with problems, the commission that was investigating the scandal would uncover the truth.

Mr Feinstein, who resigned from Parliament in 2001 when the ANC refused to investigate various allegations regarding the deal, said that the commission should be doing everything in its power to ensure that any information that could shed any light on the arms deal was brought to its attention.

The commission should be encouraged to continue its task, he said, because if corruption was discovered in any of the arms contracts, the government could cancel that contract and recoup some of the R70bn spent on the deal.

"It is our view that the commission should be given the opportunity to fulfil its mandate to the people of SA, that it should repay the taxpayer with the full, unfettered truth of the arms deal, so that those (taxpayers) who have unwittingly paid for it will finally know what has become of their tens of billions of rands, some of which might be recouped," Mr Feinstein said.