Defence department worried about civil claims

February 03 2007
The department of defence said it had noted with concern media reports that it may have to pay R978 million in civil claims, it said on Friday.

Spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi said allegations of murder, torture and assault of civilians by South African National Defence members were published in a certain newspaper.

According to the article, these crimes may result in the tax-payers being held liable for payment of civil claim against the department of R978-million.

"Accordingly, the matter is being closely pursued by the ministry and department of defence.

"The secretary for defence has instructed the defence legal division to request the journalist and the media organisation concerned to substantiate the allegations."

Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota will "address the country on the matter" next week. - Sapa

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Pierre Steyn speaks out about the arms deal

Mail & Guardian 02 February 2007
Former secretary of defence Pierre Steyn has spoken out for the first time about the arms deal, revealing that he resigned in November 1998 over the decision to force through the purchase of British Aerospace (BAE) Hawk jet trainers at twice the cost of those of the Italian bidder favoured by the air force.

“In the end I resigned because, as secretary for defence, I was going to have to account for the costs to Parliament, which I couldn’t do,” Steyn told the Mail & Guardian.

Steyn has never before spoken publicly about the deal, although extracts have been published of an interview he gave to investigators from the auditor general’s office during the arms deal investigation.

His comments come in the midst of renewed focus on the controversial multi-billion rand weapons purchase.

Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille, who first publicised allegations of corruption in the arms deal, this week flew to Europe to meet with investigators from Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which is probing the contract for Hawk trainers and Gripen fighters. She will also meet with German prosecutors who are investigating large commissions paid on the deal to sell corvette warships to South Africa.

The M&G last month revealed that commissions of more than R1-billion were paid by BAE on the South African deal to some eight entities, including to the consulting business of Fana Hlongwane, the special adviser to the then defence minister, the late Joe Modise.

In his interview with the M&G, Steyn emphasised the role in the Hawk decision played not only by Modise, but by his two close associates, Ron Haywood and Llew Swan.

Modise appointed Haywood as chairperson of Armscor, the state defence procurement agency in 1995 and Swan as CE in August 1998.

“It was always Modise and his friends Haywood and Swan who had had their minds made up from the start,” Steyn recalled. “And there was, of course, also Chippy Shaik, whom I was told to appoint. It was clear he was there to follow the minister’s orders.”

Modise also brought Haywood, and later Swan, into Arms Acquisition Council (AAC) meetings where Modise intervened to shift the goalposts radically in favour of the purchase of the Hawk.

To keep down costs, the Air Force had initially proposed a two-tier approach, which would see pilots make a jump from the existing Pilatus propeller trainers straight to the proposed new frontline fighter, meaning the Hawk would not feature.

In November 1997 Modise insisted on a three-tier system, which meant calling for bids on a jet trainer that would allow pilots to get jet experience before taking on a supersonic aircraft.

Then, during the adjudication process, Modise urged officials to adopt a “visionary approach” in the case of the jet trainer purchase. “The most inexpensive option may not necessarily be the best option,” he told one AAC meeting.

Finally, when it was clear that, in terms of the official selection criteria, the Hawk would lose out to the Italian MB339, which was half the price, Modise instructed officials to prepare a ranking based on a “non-costed option” where price would not be a factor.

In his 2001 interview with the auditor general, Steyn’s anger was palpable: “Their choice for Hawk was patently clear from the start ... It was clear to most of us that the preferred choice of the minister and those who supported him, Haywood, Swan and company; the cost of that particular solution was almost double that of the MB339.”

Even at the crucial Cabinet subcommittee briefing on August 31 1998, where the decision to go for the BAE Hawk and Gripen was taken, Haywood and Swan were allowed to stay while Modise continued deliberations with then deputy president Thabo Mbeki and other ministers. But Steyn, as well as another top official who had raised objections to cost and procedure, had to leave.

Both Haywood and Swan deny pushing the Hawk. Swan points out he only joined Armscor in August 1998, when the tenders were already adjudicated. Asked about the Cabinet subcommittee meeting, Swan says he “kept quiet” as he had “just arrived” and “didn’t know what was going on”. “I didn’t have a clue,” he said.

Now Steyn says that with pressure being brought to bear in favour of the Hawk jets, as well as other contracts that he considered “rather expensive”, he could do “little more than alert the relevant structures to the lack of need for a three-tier system and the unaffordability of it all”.

“Minister Modise was clearly under the impression that this was a good idea and that costs shouldn’t matter, because we were going to get lucrative offset deals that would give us 65 000 jobs,” says Steyn. “I warned that the offers that were coming in merely contained vague promises of the kind that were not enforceable, but they wouldn’t listen.

The Hawk, according to Steyn, was “outdated even then -- and way too expensive”. However, Cabinet had taken a so-called “strategic” view; in keeping with Modise’s “visionary approach”; contracts would be decided not only by cost, but also on the basis of which partner in the European defence industry South Africa was going to develop long-term relations with.

On that basis it could be argued that the “biggest slice should go to the UK [United Kingdom]”, as a defence official put it recently.

However, says Steyn, “It is one thing to order the materials you need from a preferred trading partner and quite another to have trading partners decide what they want to sell and then modify your requirements to serve their wishes.” And that, Steyn thinks, is what happened.

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Claims against SANDF set to cost taxpayers

The Star: January 31, 2007
Hundreds of South African soldiers have been accused of killing, torturing and assaulting the very people they are supposed to protect - and taxpayers might have to fork out almost a billion rands in civil claims.

South African National Defence Force members are the accused in 287 serious criminal cases, recorded incidents of murder, shooting, assault and torture.

An investigation by The Star has also revealed that the most recent list of recorded criminal cases against army members includes 26 charges of murder, 22 of attempted murder, 15 of assault with grievous bodily harm, 25 of common assault, and 31 of reckless and negligent driving.

And the army's own legal services division has admitted in correspondence leaked to The Star that its failure to finalise civil claims made against South African peacekeepers in Burundi has become an embarrassment.

While 37 of the criminal cases against SANDF members are recorded as withdrawn or ending in acquittal, army documents suggest that the SANDF has lost track of what happened to a staggering 125 cases recorded by the army's legal services department. At best, the last recorded court date for these cases is noted four years ago.

Some 13 cases - including three of murder and one of culpable homicide - are listed as "dormant", while in 58 of the cases, the exact nature of the charges is not listed.

One of the claims, made by Burundian state witness Dobeye Jean Damacene, is for an air ticket that Damacene paid for in order to testify in the trial of Sergeant Flippie Venter, who is accused of the rape and murder of a teenage Burundian sex worker.

According to the Defence Department's 2006 financial statements, the army is facing civil claims of R978-million, with motor accident claims amounting to an additional R3,7-million.

Disturbingly, the vast majority of the 149 civil claims against the army involve alleged unlawful arrest and violence against members of the public - some of which claimed the lives of their victims.

In addition to four civil claims against the army for murder, two of which the army indicated it would settle, the Defence Department is currently facing 14 claims related to "shooting incidents", including two in which civilians were paralysed.

Another seven cases relate to the deaths of civilians, allegedly at the hands of army members, while a further 59 claims are related to assault committed by soldiers.

The SANDF was on Wednesday due to host the second day of its moral regeneration conference in Cape Town. The conference comes days after the Defence Department incurred the ire of opposition parties by advertising for applicants with "no record of serious criminal offence".

SANDF spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi later stated that the wording of the advertisement had been made in error.

In November last year, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota told parliament that, between April 2005 and September 3, 891 crimes - allegedly committed by SANDF members - were reported to the army's military police agency. These offences, which add to the agency's 3 377 unfinalised cases carried over from 2004/2005, are believed to include 400 cases of sexual offences and the theft of military equipment.

Although the army's legal department usually provides legal assistance to SANDF members who have been criminally charged in civilian courts, it has refused requests for legal assistance in 12 cases - the majority of which involved incidents of alleged torture and assault.

In one of these cases, a sergeant stands accused of killing a member of the public during an interrogation. An SANDF inquest found the sergeant responsible for the civilian's death, and he was charged with murder, but it is not clear what happened to the case against him.

Mkhwanazi said the Defence Department was investigating what had happened to the cases unearthed by The Star. "Particularly in light of the moral regeneration conference, we take these issues very seriously. Where a member is found to be guilty, we will deal with them."

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Criminal job advert

January 29, 2007
The wording of department of defence advertisements calling for job applications from people who have no "serious" criminal record is an error, according to the defence ministry. "I am advised by the department that is a mistake," Sam Mkhwanazi, a spokesperson, said.

The adverts, for recruitment into military skills development programmes in the navy and air force, were placed in the Sunday Times. Under "minimum requirements", the advertisements say applicants must have "no record of a serious criminal offence".

However, Mkhwanazi said he was informed that this wording was carried over from an earlier, also erroneous, advert and that the new adverts had not been approved at a senior level. He said "any sort" of criminal record will disqualify an applicant.

Earlier today Andries Botha, the Democratic Alliance (DA) defence spokesperson, said it was disgraceful that the defence force and the department, both of which were designed to uphold the law, should be willing to take on people with criminal records.

"It sets the wrong example and undermines the department's desperate need to build a better, more effective and accountable defence force," he said. "There are millions of law-abiding unemployed citizens in South Africa whom the [department] should instead look to recruit."

He said he will ask Mosiuoa Lekota, the defence minister, a parliamentary question to establish how many people currently employed by the defence force and department had criminal records, and which specific crimes the department did not regard as "serious criminal offences".

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South Africa Will Not Send Troops to Somalia

January 29, 2007
South Africa will not be sending troops to Somalia, but is continuing to asses what type of assistance it can offer the North African country.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad told BuaNews today that South Africa would not be sending any soldiers to Somalia as its peacekeeping force was stretched in other missions on the continent.

These include deployments in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Burundi and Sudan's Darfur region.

The deputy minister told reporters at the Union Buildings today that Nigeria was preparing to send hundreds of its troops to Somalia for possible participation in an African peace-keeping force.

According to Mr Pahad, spokesperson for the Nigerian army, Colonel Ayo Olaniyan said a battalion was being prepared in the event that they were asked to contribute troops.

A battalion is an infantry unit commanded by a lieutenant colonel and consists of approximately 1 000 troops.

In addition, Mozambique was reconsidering whether it would contribute troops to peacekeeping forces deployed in Sudan and Somalia.

"Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota is still consulting with relevant departments to determine what other assistance we can provide to the African Union peace-keeping force in Somalia.

"He will then make recommendation to President Thabo Mbeki," said the deputy minister.

Regarding Sudan, Mr Pahad said last week rebel commanders in northern Darfur reported that government aircraft had hit three villages in the preceding weekend.

Mr Pahad said Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in an exclusive BBC interview had confirmed his troops carried out the bombardments.

"He said the government had no option but to strike as 80 percent of attacks on civilians in the region were carried out by rebel groups, undermining security," said Mr Pahad.

He said President Bashir also told the BBC that after signing the peace agreement with a leading rebel group in May 2006, rival rebels formed a new alliance called the National Salvation Front.

President Bashir said the group had received "massive military support in full view of the international community" and set out to target those who had signed the peace deal.

Militias have since carried out large-scale attacks on Sudan Liberation Movement positions in northern Darfur, controlling its movements, the Sudanese president said.

"We heard no condemnation of this movement or the countries supporting it. But as soon as we were forced to send armed troops to deal with it we heard talk of violations and a ceasefire breach," he told the BBC.

Sudan has witnessed fighting between rebels and the government, which has reportedly claimed more than 200 000 lives and displaced more than 2 million people since 2003.

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Lekota involved in AMP scheming

January 22 2007
ANC national executive committee chairperson and Minister of Defence Mosiuoa Lekota was among the ANC heavyweights involved in intense talks with the Africa Muslim Party (AMP) in March last year in a bid to block the DA from taking power in the City of Cape Town.

In the past two months Lekota was reportedly also involved in behind-the-scenes discussions with the AMP and ID that almost toppled the DA-led multiparty government last week.

This emerged in a candid interview on Sunday with national chairperson of the AMP, Gulam Sabdia.

In the interview he outlined the route that led to the attempt by councillor Badih Chaaban to negotiate a coalition with the ANC and ID.

Defence department spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi said Lekota's involvement in talks with the AMP was a political issue that needed to be answered by the party.

Sabdia said the events that last week resulted in the AMP being booted out of the multi-party government and led to the inclusion of the ID in the DA-led coalition, should be understood in the context of last year's March 15 mayoral elections.

"In March, a week before we joined the multiparty government, we were in talks with the ANC," he said.

The plan was to form a coalition of the ANC, ID and AMP, but on the day of the mayoral elections, March 15, there was still no signed agreement between the three parties.

Sabdia said he told Lekota the ID were still not on board. The AMP had meanwhile agreed to a draft agreement with the DA and smaller parties, which was not yet signed.

Sabdia said the AMP later decided, when confronted by both the ANC and DA on the day of the council meeting, to vote with the DA.

"So the AMP joined the DA and smaller parties and the multiparty government was formed. We never looked back and we were fired up to get things done."

But Sabdia said the AMP has been increasingly frustrated with the DA-led council.

Only projects coming from DA-managed portfolios were being approved.

"(Mayor Helen) Zille is a good public relations person for a racist, apartheid-style party. It was supposed to be a coalition of equals, but instead we had to follow a DA agenda."

Sabdia said Chaaban had approached the ANC to get the ID involved in a new coalition.

The ID were allegedly offered four mayoral committee positions if they sided with the ANC and AMP.

But while there were talks, "nothing was concretised".

Sabdia confirmed that AMP talks with the ANC had been with the party's provincial and national leadership, especially with Lekota, who was a friend and lived nearby in Pretoria.

ANC provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha said he knew nothing of the ANC national leadership's involvement in the talks, but confirmed that the provincial executive had been part of the discussions.

Sabdia said that while Chaaban had been "a bit rough" in his language, his only transgression had been a lack of communication with the party president, Wasfie Hassiem.

He said Chaaban would, at most, be reprimanded internally by the party for this.

"He has a chequered past, but he is not a gangster. He is just a businessman who is sometimes a bit too assertive."

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Probe into gravy plane nears end

January 24 2007

The presidency and the departments of defence and foreign affairs are among those who have been asked to make submissions to a government-appointed committee probing the hiring of private jets for top government officials.

Already two weeks into the job, head of the two-person inquiry Advocate Kgomotso Moroka said she hoped to wrap up the inquiry by April.

She said charter companies which had won tenders with the department of defence had also been invited to make submissions, while those charter companies who believed that they should be hired could also send in reports.

Moroka said she and her assistant, retired South African National Defence Force General Benno Smith, were essentially "reviewing departmental processes and procedures" to see whether these had been adhered to.

The inquiry comes after last year's furore over the millions spent on chartering planes for Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

Her "gravy plane" woes started at the end of 2005 with her costly and controversial holiday to the United Arab Emirates. The outcry reached a climax when it was found that it had also cost about R4,5-million to charter a flight for Mlambo-Ngcuka to the United Kingdom last year.

At the time, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota described it as "shocking, irregular and out of proportion" and subsequently instituted the inquiry.

However, Lekota was quick to come to Mlambo-Ngcuka's defence, saying she was not responsible for her travel arrangements. He also ordered all flights chartered for senior politicians and VIPs between April 27, 2004 and December 10, 2006 be investigated, after allegations that the South African Air Force had a critical shortage of pilots and technicians.

Lekota's department is res-ponsible for transporting the president, deputy president, former presidents and VIPs, some ministers and senior SANDF officials.

The presidency and ministries of defence and foreign affairs used the service most frequently, Moroka said on Tuesday. She said she and Smith were working through defence force documents related to the case and expected to complete the process in April, thereby meeting the three month deadline set by Lekota.

She said depending on the submissions received, oral hearings might be held, but only as a means of clarification, and stressed that the committee's work was not public.

She said what happened after they had wrapped up their work was up to Lekota.

"Even if I find any wrong-doing I can't pass any judgment," Moroka said.

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No SA troops to Somalia

26 Jan 2007
South Africa will not be sending peacekeepers to Somalia, but will consider other support, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said on Thursday following a meeting with President Thabo Mbeki.

Lekota and Mbeki met in Pretoria to discuss the feasibility of sending troops for a peace-keeping mission to the war-torn Somalia.

This followed concerns in the South African Government and military circles that sending more troops for another peace-keeping mission, would strain the country's defence resources.

Speaking after the meeting, Lekota said he supported the African Union and the United Nations' view that there was a need for a strong peace-keeping force in Somalia.

However, he said South Africa would not be able to send troops there because its force was already over stretched, as it was involved in similar missions in various parts of Africa.

Lekota said it was his view that sending more troops to Somalia could consequently jeopardise South Africa's effectiveness on the other missions it has already committed itself to.

Lekota's spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi said the minister and the defence department were currently investigating other ways in which South Africa's military could lend support to the Somalia mission.

"He (Lekota) would then give the appropriate advice to the President on what possible assistance could be rendered," Mkhwanazi added.

South Africa currently has forces deployed in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Sudan as well as Ethiopia/Eritrea as part of peace-keeping missions in these countries. The AU and the UN last year urged African countries to assist by sending troops to Somalia to try to stabilise the country after the fall of the Islamic Court Union (ICU).

The ICU had run Somalia for about six months. Its leaders appointed themselves the governors of areas where Somalia's interim government had no authority.

Many other African countries, including Nigeria and Tanzania, are still considering the pros and cons of sending troops to Somalia.

The deployment may overstretch their military too. Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said the AU's plan for peacekeeping in Somalia entailed sending at least nine battalions comprising 800 troops each in a bid to bring stability to the country.

Somalia has been without a formal government for 16 years. So far only Uganda has committed itself to sending 1 000 soldiers to Somalia, pending approval by the Ugandan parliament.

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South Africa’s Pressing Nuclear Choices

Taking advantage of an unusual nuclear history; an innovative, domestic nuclear power industry; and strong ties with other strategic countries, South Africa is emerging as a crucial bridge between developed and developing countries on nuclear issues. South Africa’s outspoken support for “all” country’s rights to develop nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes and its renewed interest in developing its own nuclear fuel cycle puts it at center stage in nonproliferation debates.

At the same time, its record as the only country to develop its own nuclear weapons and then renounce them has allowed it to challenge the nuclear-weapon states to meet their disarmament commitments under the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

South Africa has long played a prominent role in the Nonaligned Movement (NAM), which brings together developing countries. Moreover, it has forged close ties with Brazil and India on nuclear issues, and the three together yield considerable influence on nuclear issues as members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors.[1] In the next few months, it will also gain new power in the UN Security Council and as the next chair of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.[2] More than ever, therefore, South Africa’s nuclear policy can have significant implications in shaping the future of the nuclear nonproliferation regime. It has the potential to be a responsible model for other developing nations to follow or could prove to be a new problem by backing some states that have questionable motives.

Unique Past, Unique Present

South Africa once had the infrastructure to assemble a number of nuclear weapons. In 1989, however, the government gave up that path, admitted its nuclear weapons development, and disassembled the devices. Subsequently, South Africa joined the NPT and became an important voice in the nonproliferation regime, particularly as a representative of developing nations, including those in the NAM. In addition, South Africa is part of the New Agenda Coalition, an eight-state grouping that demands “the speedy, final and total elimination” of all nuclear weapons. These fora provide South Africa with an opportunity to convey its commitment to nonproliferation and disarmament efforts.

To this end, South Africa was one of the few countries recently to criticize the United Kingdom’s decision to build a new class of ballistic missile-capable submarines. In an official statement, the South African Department of Foreign Affairs called on the British government to honor its “unequivocal undertaking” toward nuclear disarmament made during the 2000 NPT review conference.[3]

South Africa’s long nuclear history has also laid the basis for a domestic nuclear industry of a size and sophistication unusual for developing countries, and it continues to develop new nuclear technologies that will equate to larger markets and increased revenue in the future.

South Africa’s nuclear industry is one of the most innovative in the world. It includes projects such as the pebble-bed modular reactor slated for construction beginning in 2007, which puts South Africa at the forefront of nuclear energy technologies. The pebble-bed reactor will be pioneering in its cost, safety (it avoids the complexities and low efficiencies of the steam cycle), design, and quality control. It will eventually provide 4,000-5,000 megawatts of power following module completion in 2013. The reactor will use down-blended weapons-grade uranium from former Russian nuclear warheads.[4]

The country also has the world’s fourth-largest uranium reserves[5] and significant experience in fuel production. South African officials are exploring the potential construction of new nuclear plants and re-invigorating South Africa’s nuclear fuel cycle.[6] Its strong web of bilateral and multilateral relationships could allow South Africa to grow as a major global supplier of nuclear technologies.[7]

Not surprisingly, South Africa has been a proponent of nuclear energy for all, arguing that all states adhering to the NPT have the basic and inalienable right to develop research and production capabilities for the peaceful use of nuclear energy without discrimination.[8] In particular, South Africa had resisted efforts to curb the spread of uranium-enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing technologies even though they can either provide fuel for nuclear reactors or fissile materials for nuclear weapons. This has brought it into conflict with some of the nuclear-weapon states that argue that Iran has used loopholes in their safeguards obligations under the NPT to develop nuclear weapons capabilities.

Additionally, since 2005, South Africa has been persistent in its effort to use highly enriched uranium in its currently operating Safari research reactor. It openly rejects efforts by the United States and other nuclear-weapon states to phase out the use of this weapons-ready material in civilian nuclear reactors, claiming that this approach undermines the right of states who have already committed to nonproliferation. In 2005, South African ambassador to the IAEA Abdul Minty affirmed “the need to guard against the imposition of any arrangement that may infringe on the inalienable right of states to the peaceful application of nuclear energy.”[9]

Moreover, South Africa’s brand of diplomacy also has raised concerns. South Africa is a strong advocate for the NAM, which it joined in 1994 and which provides it with an opportunity to strengthen nuclear ties with other developing countries. Its advocacy raises concerns for the United States, given that the organization also includes among its members such countries of proliferation concern as Iran and Syria.

In September 2006, during the 14th NAM summit in Havana, member states supported the rights of developing countries to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.[10] The final document, pointing to Article IV of the NPT, affirmed “the basic inalienable right of all states to develop research, production, and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes without any discrimination and in conformity with their respective legal obligations.”[11]

Relations With Iran

South Africa has been a staunch supporter of Iran’s right to develop its nuclear infrastructure.[12] In December 2006, for example, South African ambassador to Iran Yusuf Saloojee said that “ Iran is a signatory to the NPT and is thus entitled to use peaceful nuclear technology.” South African officials seem to have paid less attention to the agreement reached during the 2000 NPT review conference in which states-parties agreed that the inalienable right should only include those parties that are also in compliance with Article III of the treaty, related to a country’s safeguards obligations.

Western countries argue that Iran forfeited its right to nuclear technologies because it was not in compliance with its safeguard obligations. Countering that argument, in August 2006 South African Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad asserted that the Iranian problem has been brought about “primarily due to the unequal implementation of the delicately balanced rights and obligations contained in the NPT itself.”[13] Pahad argued, “Few states doubt the inherent discriminatory nature of the treaty, which created two distinct groups: the haves and the have-nots.”[14] Many of those have-nots are developing countries.

In May 2006, South African officials and the foreign ministers of Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Syria, and Venezuela met with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. Afterward, South African Deputy Foreign Minister Sue van der Merwe spoke of stronger ties to Iran, particularly within the NAM framework, adding that Iran has been instrumental in providing regional stability.[15] After the meeting, Mottaki stated that, “[g]iven that today NAM member states more than ever have commonalities in the international scene, their coordination and close cooperation can create a powerful movement in the world.”[16] In August 2006, bilateral cooperation was strengthened when Mottaki met with a number of South African government officials, including Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Buyelwa Sonjica, Minister of Trade and Industry Mandisi Mpahlwa, and Minister of Science and Technology Mosibudi Mangena.[17] South Africa may have also offered to transfer natural uranium to Iran for use in its program, although there is no indication that any such deal has been concluded.[18]

Additionally, Iran and South Africa have made other overtures to strengthen their nuclear cooperation. During the 61st annual session of the UN General Assembly in September 2006, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mbeki discussed points for strengthening bilateral relations in various fields, including the nuclear field.[19] This and other activities appeared to cause considerable concern in the international community. The United States sent Gregory Schulte, its ambassador to the IAEA, to South Africa to urge it to take a stricter stance on Iran’s nuclear issue.[20]

Nor has South Africa always been a responsible actor in nuclear trade. Since 2004, it has become apparent that some individuals and companies in South Africa supplied nuclear-related equipment to Libya as part of Abdul Qadeer Khan’s nuclear network.[21] The investigation and criminal proceedings continue at this time. They focus on Gerhard Wisser, a German engineer who was CEO of the South African-based Krisch Engineering, and Daniel Geiges, a Swiss mechanical engineer who served as managing director of Krisch Engineering in South Africa. Wisser and Geiges were allegedly involved in arranging the fabrication of gas-feed and withdrawal systems in the plans for a centrifuge-enrichment plant in Libya. Johan Meyer, a South African mechanical engineer also was arrested for his alleged involvement in Khan’s network. Meyer’s company, TradeFin Engineering, imported vacuum pumps from Spain and pressure sensors from German companies.[22]

In January 2004, Asher Karni, a naturalized South African resident and a salesman for the military and aviation electronics company Top-Cape Technology, was arrested for his involvement in the Khan network. Gotthard Lerch faces charges for his involvement in the nuclear smuggling network to obtain piping from South Africa and autoclave technology using blueprints from the 1980s from the nuclear industry leader Urenco.[23]

Subsequently, the South African government has put forth significant effort to arrest those involved in illicit transactions and deter others through stricter guidelines and stronger controls.

Conclusion

South Africa appears to have a nuclear policy with opposing objectives and points of view. Although it promotes the development of nuclear technologies almost to the detriment of the nonproliferation regime, it has been taking a more public leadership role in nonproliferation and disarmament efforts. To serve as a responsible voice, however, South Africa’s policy should have clarity, consistency, and equity. As it stands now, South Africa’s support for some countries and its stated interest to increase its own nuclear activities could prove damaging to its laudable nonproliferation and disarmament efforts.

South Africa is committed to the future of nuclear energy and has made clear that its program to develop its civilian nuclear program will focus on peaceful purposes. Sharing of its pebble-bed modular reactor technology, however, could prove threatening to the nonproliferation regime unless it closely monitors the exchange of this technology and imposes stricter controls on its own imports and exports.

South Africa should also work to promote a more multilateral, farsighted approach to nuclear technologies and material, as suggested by IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei.[24]

In short, South Africa must continue to strike a balance between supporting states’ rights to develop nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes and working to stop the progress of those that would use these technologies for the development of nuclear weapons. Through its unique position and leadership role in prominent international organizations, South Africa has an opportunity to steer the direction of the nuclear industry and the global nonproliferation regime in a positive direction. It should take it.

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SA arms deal: Blair attacked

January 18 2007 at 06:52AM
British opposition parties have called on Prime Minister Tony Blair to come clean over his involvement in a controversial R30-billion arms deal between the South African government and British arms manufacturers BAe.

As part of the deal, it has been widely alleged that R1-billion was paid in commissions to a number of South African business leaders and politicians.

Liberal Democrats leader Menzies Campbell told The Star on Wednesday night: "The British government and the prime minister must give assurances that they will provide all the support required for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to conclude its investigations involving BAe and South Africa".

The deal dates back to 1999, when BAe won a contract to supply SA with military aircraft, including 24 Hawk fighter trainers, at allegedly double the price of a rival Italian bidder.

The matter was raised in the British parliament on Wednesday, where Campbell challenged Blair on the issue, including controversial deals that were also struck with Saudi Arabia and Tanzania.

But Blair insisted he was acting in the best interest of the public, with their concerns at heart, "and the thousands of jobs" created as a result of the multi-billion-pound deals.

However, British journalist David Leigh, of The Guardian newspaper, who has written in detail about the BAe scandal and Blair's involvement in it, told The Star on Wednesday that Blair had travelled the length and breadth of the world promoting sales on behalf of BAe that had little to do with British interests.

"He has travelled to South Africa to sell Hawk planes. He has promoted the sales of military radar to Tanzania. He promoted Hawk aircraft to India. And he even bullied the Czech government into buying Gripen planes which BAe was marketing.

"And basically everywhere he has gone, he has left a trail of corruption in his wake," Leigh alleged.

"But the truth of the matter," contends Leigh, "is that BAe has influence with a large number of politicians. For example, Lord Charles Powell is on BAe's payroll. Powell's brother, Jonathan, is Tony Blair's chief of staff. Now you draw your own conclusions," he said.

Speculation over Blair's involvement comes as the South African government finds itself under renewed pressure by British and German investigators to step up the investigation. Six years on, they are still probing the alleged payment of massive kickbacks to heavyweights in the government and business.

But it seems the state is in no hurry to provide the British government with help in tracking R1-billion in "commissions" allegedly paid by BAe to eight South African businesses and a political adviser since 1992.

Senior BAe executives, including chief executive Mike Turner and former chairperson Dick Evans, were named on Tuesday as suspects in the SFO's corruption investigation.

Six months after the SFO asked for help from South African authorities, however, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is still sitting on the request.

Equatorial Guinea's request to question Mark Thatcher about his role in an alleged coup plot in the oil-rich country took less than a week to be approved by Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla.

While such requests are usually okayed by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Justice Department spokesperson Zolile Nqayi on Wednesday said his office was "not aware of any request".

NPA spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi confirmed that a request had been received, but said it was "still being dealt with".

Scorpions spokesperson Lucinda Moonieya on Wednesday said that "whatever assistance (the SFO) request, we will give them".

As yet, the NPA has been unable to give any timeframes for the processing of the request.

Retired judge Willem Heath, who was excluded from investigating the arms deal by President Thabo Mbeki in January 2001, said he was "not surprised" that British authorities were still waiting for co-operation from the South African government.

"They can hardly co-operate when doing so would be a concession that there was something to investigate.

"Should the South African government continue to not co-operate with the British authorities, however, it will have seriously repercussions for our relationship with the UK.

"Why should they help our justice authorities when we have seemingly failed to assist them?" said Heath.

He said he had "mixed feelings" about the international arms deal investigations.

"I'm grateful that there is proof out there … but nobody likes to be told that their country is corrupt, especially when it is another country that is telling them," he said.

Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille, who, like Heath, has been at the centre of the arms scandal since she released her dossier in parliament in September 1999, announced yesterday that she is to fly to England and Germany to meet investigators.

"I will be flying to London shortly to meet with the Serious Fraud Office and to Germany to meet their National Prosecuting Authority for discussions over the arms deal enquiry," she said.

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Arms deal: New bribe probe launched

A former adviser to the defence ministry, now in the arms-manufacturing, supply and export business, is being investigated by Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for allegedly receiving substantial kickbacks from BAe Systems - the British company that won the contract to supply South Africa with 24 Hawk 100 trainer jets.

Britain's Guardian newspaper reported on Saturday that businessman Fana Hlongwane, a former adviser to defence minister Joe Modise, who died in 2001, was being investigated for receiving "substantial payments" from BAe Systems.

Hlongwane was reported to have been in a position to influence who would be awarded the £1,5-billion (about R21 billion) contract. It was won by BAe, although BAe charged nearly twice the price of a rival Italian bidder for its aircraft. The investigation centres on claims of substantial payments to Hlongwane while he was Modise's adviser. At the time, Hlongwane was also a director of the parastatal arms company Denel, and of Osprey, a company BAe named as its agent handling commissions paid in South Africa.

'BAe made a substantial donation to the ANC after the contract was signed'
Questions were raised about the aircraft-acquisition component of the arms deal when Modise changed the formula by which the winning bidder would be chosen. BAe and Saab won the bid to supply the Hawks and 28 Gripen fighter jets.

BAe has acknowledged that it paid tens of millions of pounds in secret commissions to win the bid. The company originally intended to pay 12 percent of the contract price in commissions, but agreed to cut that back to 7 percent - more than £100 million - following questions from the British authorities underwriting the deal.

BAe made a substantial donation to the ANC after the contract was signed.

Hlongwane is a former Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) high command member. He was part of the high command delegation that testified before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission about the ANC armed wing's actions in South Africa during the struggle to end apartheid.

Hlongwane - once wined and dined by Tony Yengeni's co-accused, Michael Woerfel, the former European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company South African representative - is reported to own most of Ivema, a company that "provides innovative and specialised solutions for defence, security and humanitarian aid clients". He is also a part owner of a military vehicle company, Uri.

Hlongwane employed former South African National Defence Force chief General Siphiwe Nyanda, who since his departure from the SANDF has been an Ivema board member and security consultant, as the chief executive officer and managing director of Ngwane Defence Group, launched by Jeff Radebe, the transport minister, at last year's Africa Aerospace and Defence expo.

Ngwane is a majority black-owned and controlled South African company run by former MK and SANDF commanders. Its main focus areas are military vehicles, small- and medium-calibre weapons, security and humanitarian aid.

According to Business Day, Ivema is one of the companies comprising Ngwane, along with Milkor Marketing, design company IAD, Midrand-based rifle-maker Truvelo Manufacturers, grenade-launcher maker Sonoro, and Uri.

Hlongwane could not be reached for comment on Saturday.

According to the Guardian report, the Scorpions were handling a "mutual legal assistance" request from the SFO to investigate Hlongwane's financial accounts in relation to the 1999 deal.

Allegations of corruption related to the controversial multibillion-rand arms procurement process were earlier lodged against Modise. These included that Modise had received a £500 000 bribe from BAe and $10-million from a German consortium contracted to sell submarines to South Africa.

While the Scorpions claimed not to know of a joint investigation with the SFO into Hlongwane's role in the arms deal, the SFO would neither confirm nor deny the report yesterday. Scorpions spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi said yesterday that he was not aware of any "mutual legal assistance" between his organisation and the SFO. He said he had never heard of Fana Hlongwane before.

Patricia de Lille, who produced a dossier of evidence supporting allegations that ANC politicians and business people were involved in irregularities around the arms deal, welcomed the SFO probe. She said she would travel to Germany soon to give information to prosecutors investigating claims of corruption in the supply of warships to South Africa by Thomson CSF and Thyssen Krupp.

The Guardian reported on the South African investigation soon after the British government abruptly halted an SFO inquiry into bribes allegedly paid by BAe to Saudi royals. It reported that British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Britain's security would be endangered if the investigation continued.

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