A R5-million ‘donation’ from a United Kingdom armaments firm has not reached its intended target war veterans
Paul Kirk
Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of millions of rands donated by British Aerospace (BAe) to the Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans’ Association (MKMVA) a few months before the company was named as the preferred bidder to supply jets to South Africa as part of the R43-billion arms deal.
Inquiries directed to a number of senior officials of the veteran’s association and to one of its founding trustees, former defence minister Joe Modise, went unanswered this week.
More than two years after the cash was handed over, many veterans have received no benefit from the funds.
In terms of a memorandum of understanding between the MKMVA and BAe, signed in March 1998, the aerospace giant handed over R5-million in cash. BAe promised many more millions of rands in training and support for members of the association.
BAe was named preferred bidder for Hawk trainers and the Gripen jet fighter in November 1998. The company was awarded the contract in September 1999.
Using the cash injection from BAe, a big industrial park and housing estate was to be constructed south of Johannesburg, near Orange Farm. The site chosen was Doornkuil Farm a site the MKMVA claimed it owned through a company called the Veterans Heritage Investments Limited.
However, a search of the Deeds Office by the Mail & Guardian shows Veterans Heritage Investments owns no property anywhere in the country.
In terms of the donation, more than 20?000 MK veterans should have been given training in a variety of skills, including metalwork and construction. BAe also offered to make the 20 000 trained veterans preferred suppliers of products to their own production programme.
At the time of the signing, BAe had not been named preferred bidder in the South African arms contract. The memorandum nevertheless mentions how the veterans could contribute toward the production of the Hawk and the Gripen.
This week BAe representative Linden Birns said that while money had indeed been handed over to MKMVA, no construction had yet begun. Said Birns: “The figure involved was about R5-million. The latest news I have heard is that the project is going ahead. There was a little bit of a problem around the land for the development, but that has been sorted out and everything should be moving ahead soon.”
Birns said the money was paid into a trust account, administered by MKMVA. He added that he was waiting for “administrative technicalities” to be cleared.
Asked if the deal, which effectively gave money to an African National Congress body while BAe was bidding for government work, was not tantamount to bribery, Birns denied anything improper had occurred.
The secretary general of the veterans’ association, Lebone Mosia, was not available for comment at the time of going to press. Staff at the association’s offices at Luthuli House, the ANC’s national headquarters told the M&G that Mosia would be back only on Monday.
All queries were refered to association treasurer general Dumisane Khosa. Khosa said years after it should have been completed, the Doornkuil Farm project was still on the cards. He assured the M&G that, while none of the R5-million from BAe had found its way to veterans, the money had not been spent or misused and was in a trust account.
Phaundi Mabaso, the secretary general of MKMVA until last month, was not available for comment. Mabaso has been sued several times for non-payment of debt by Telkom and Standard Bank among others. Mabaso is the representative of MKMVA who accepted the R5-million donation from BAe.
Mabaso was a director of Sibuyile Security Services before the company was liquidated last year. His business partner was Wahl Bartman, the boss of controversial security outfit Khulani Springbok Patrols.
Mabaso was also an employee of Ukukhula Services, a company that saw several old-guard policemen join forces with former Umkhonto weSiswe veterans. One of Mabaso’s colleagues in an Ukukhula affiliate, OPM, was “Pink” Jimmy Taylor the security branch cop who bombed the ANC offices in London.
Mabaso is also a former chair of the Gauteng branch of the South African Communist Party and a one-time ANC whip in the province’s legislature.
Modise, who was instrumental in setting up the association and served on the steering committee to establish MKMVA could not be reached. Modise’s legal representative is presently overseas. His office gave the M&G Modise’s personal cell number to contact him.
Modise did not answer, but messages were left for him to call the M&G. Despite assurances that Modise would call after a lunch-time meeting, the phone was switched off at the time the M&G was going to press.
The trustees of MKMVA include Thandi Modise, a member of the joint standing committe on defence; Max Sisulu, the deputy CEO of Denel, the arms producer in which BAe recently bought a 20% stake; Mabaso; and Isaac Makopo.