I was not surprised when I was watching e-tv and I heard a quote from President Thabo Mbeki saying those who are sceptical or don’t believe the arms deal investigation results are those who believe that blacks are corrupt.
I want to say unequivocally that I fiercely oppose what Mbeki has said. Fortunately, I happen to be black.
It is clear that the African National Congress government does not meet the expectations of their voters, and I happen to be one of them. The slogan “A better life for all” is a clich! Rather, it is a better life for those who are in Parliament.
For example, Mbeki did not turn down the expensive jet that was bought for him, and did not condemn Tony Yengeni’s 4X4.
It is ludicrous and will never be understood by any South African citizen, black or white, why the government purchased weapons for a country that has no enemy.
The only people who seem to understand this are MPs.
Our president is famous outside the country. Can we admire him for taking care of other countries and leaving innocent South Africans who put him where he is dying of poverty and Aids? Anyone has the mouth to judge.
Halala, Mbeki, halala! GS Roy Dlulane, Wits University
Now that the arms deal report is in, let us return to the fundamental question which no one has ever answered. Why do we need this package of hi-tech weaponry?
The reason no one has answered is that there is no rational answer. We are in fact one of the safest countries in the world when it comes to threats of invasion and the like and we already far outgun all the other 13 Southern African Development Community countries combined.
The Cabinet has the responsibility to reconsider and to cancel the deal, in whole or in part. No doubt it will cost us tens and maybe hundreds of millions to cancel, but it will save us far, far more. And it might allow us to put some resources into nonviolent ways of dealing with disputes, which are more moral, more effective and less costly.
The time for some principled leadership by the Cabinet on this issue is way overdue. Geoff Harris, University of Natal
The arrest of Schabir Shaik by the Scorpions on November 16 is salutory indeed. It is a confirmation of the faith many of us have expressed in the National Director of Prosecutions, Bulelani Ngcuka.
Arresting Schabir Shaik of Nkobi Investments Holdings, African Defence Systems and half a dozen other companies is commendable.
As I pointed out earlier in the year, not only to the Mail & Guardian but also to the Scorpions when they interviewed me last April, Schabir Shaik is a thoroughly dishonest person. I was certain the Scorpions would find incriminating evidence in his various operational centres about government procurement issues. And it has come to pass.
I hope though that our courts will not be dazzled and mesmerised by Shaik’s smooth tongue.
The Scorpions have to be congratulated for a job well done. The arrest of Schabir is an auspicious beginning. Other crooks, please take note.
With the Scorpions around, dishonest persons who filch public goods and pervert government operations, days’ are numbered. Professor Themba Sono, Centurion
No one expects an arms deal of this size to escape sleaze completely. That something has been uncovered should be no surprise. What is sad and disappointing is that the ANC does not set itself higher standards.
I find it particularly saddening to hear members of the Cabinet attacking the press for digging for dirt.
If it had not been for the M&G and The Sunday Times, would the probes have been ordered? Is it any coincidence that the only people charged so far were named in press exposs?
I have a new explanation for why the costs of the arms deal keep escalating. An unbudgeted amount of whitewash has been purchased in copious quantities.
Keep up the good work. Philip Machanick, Wits University
It was interesting to read Helmoed-Romer Heitman’s letter on November 16 (The real cost of the Hawk). I would like to raise the following points:
Heitman sings the praises of the Hawk, and while they are true, the nature of military specifications and statistics means that an advocate of the MB339 could state an equal number (or even more) of advantages of the Italian aircraft.
The author does not even begin to address the central controversy of the Hawk deal why the politicians patently ignored the South African Airforce recommendation for the MB339 to be chosen.
I find it mind-boggling to realise that the Aermacchi won both the costed and non-costed list of aircraft, and yet was not chosen.
Why, if the Hawk is so superior, did our highly regarded South African Air Force (SAAF) majors and colonels not choose it? (Couldn’t someone, for the “national interest”, get their hands on these technical recommendations and release them to us?).
The SAAF has a long and proud history of using Aermacchi aircraft. It would be natural for our pilots to graduate from the existing Impala to the MB339 (more so for our technicians).
The author mentions a number of highly competent air arms that have chosen the Hawk. The MB 339 has also been chosen by a number of reputable air forces.
The SAAF’s (past and existing) expertise need not stand back for any other air arm, and furthermore each air arm has a different set of requirements for lead-in trainers. Succinctly put, what is best for the United States Navy and the Royal Air Force may not be best for the SAAF, flying in sub- equatorial Africa.
Moving on from Heitman and considering the whole arms deal, I would prefer to believe the straightforward technical evaluation of our serving aviators before believing “visionary” talk by a minister.
The true cost of the trainers still needs to be worked out. Did the cost of the MB339 aircraft include avionics? If so, it would be financially suicidal to pay more for a more expensive aircraft and local avionics.
Did the gift by BAe to the MK Veterans’ Fund perhaps sway the minister’s judgement?
The government wants us to forget the arms deal and “move on”. Now the president labels all critics as “racist” and indulges in provocative and pathological race-baiting. Rubbish. I call on the M&G as the only remaining independent newspaper in this country to lance this festering boil once and for all. This deal could bankrupt this country. It was decided upon without realising just how much the rand would fall.
Who do we think we are (and who are the likely threats), acquiring such sophisticated and expensive weaponry? This Hawk scandal, among the other scandals, just smacks of a cover up and a monumental misjudgement. Gavin Heath, Sunnyside