Armscor has no place in post-apartheid South Africa and should be disbanded, Economists Allied for Arms Reduction South Africa (Ecaar-SA) said on Tuesday in a written submission to Parliament’s defence portfolio committee.
The 17-page document, compiled by Ecaar-SA chairman Terry Crawford-Browne, has been submitted a week ahead of the committee’s public hearings on the Armscor Bill, set down for April 15.
The bill provides for the continued existence of the Armaments Corporation of South Africa Limited, the defence department’s procurement, marketing and sales arm.
Crawford-Browne is calling on the committee to reject the draft legislation in its entirety, and disband Armscor.
He also says the guidelines and rationale of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee, under the chairmanship of Education Minister Kader Asmal, have proved an ”utter sham”.
”Wherever in the world there is an especially dirty war, human rights activists now expect to find South African weapons.
”Exports of armaments amount to less than 0,5% of South Africa’s exports, and less than 0,17% of the gross domestic product.
”Notwithstanding enormous investment of public resources and hype, the armaments industry remains economically insignificant in South Africa, except in negative terms because of squandered resources,” the document states. – Sapa