Cash-strapped Zimbabwe has bought 12 fighter jets and 100 military vehicles from China, the opposition shadow defence minister Giles Mutsekwa said on Sunday.
”It is true that new military equipment has been purchased. It was confirmed by the permanent secretary for defence and the minister at various fora,” said the lawmaker for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
The cost of the equipment has not been disclosed but Mutsekwa estimated the deal at around $200-million.
Mutsekwa said the parliamentary committee on defence was kept in the dark about the deal, only discovering it during a recent review of the defence ministry’s quarterly budget.
”It was during a quarterly review of the defence ministry budget when it was revealed that the ministry has purchased these things,” said Mutsekwa.
Defence ministry secretary Trust Maphosa was reportedly quizzed on why the equipment was bought without going to tender in line with regulations.
Maphosa reportedly cited security reasons for the breach in procedure.
He also reportedly argued that the military purchases from China were necessary due to the arms embargo slapped by the European Union and the United States on Zimbabwe.
Maphosa said it was now impossible to find spare parts for the fleet currently in use.
Zimbabwe’s arsenal was put to heavy use in the Democratic Republic of Congo where President Mugabe deployed more than 10 000 troops to shore up government forces of Laurent Kabila and later his son Joseph, from 1998 to 2002.
Zimbabwe is reeling from an economic crisis, with runaway inflation of over 400%, unemployment hovering at about 70% and capital flight since the controversial 2000 elections and land reform that saw thousands of white-owned farms seized and redistributed to landless blacks.
Defence ministry officials could not be reached for comment on the arms deal.
The opposition shadow defense minister said the decision to buy the military equipment without parliamentary approval was worrisome and suggested it was linked to next year’s elections.
”It suprises all of us, we are quite disturbed that this kind of purchase went ahead without Parliament clearance,” said Mutsekwa.
”We believe this a kind of intimidatory tactic because we are going towards very crucial elections next year,” he said.
”The idea is that whatever the public does, there is a possibility of it being subverted by the military”. – Sapa-AFP