The secret arms deal to acquire between R8-billion- and R14-billion-worth of highly sophisticated military transport aircraft should be suspended until a meeting is held by the parliamentary joint standing committee on defence, says official opposition Democratic Alliance MP Rafeek Shah.
The committee should “address critical questions that surround the deal”.
Shah said in a statement on Friday that he has written to the committee chairperson requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the matter.
I have also written to the minister of defence asking him to attend this meeting in order to explain the whole deal and supply answers to the following questions.”
He said the first is: “Was the contract put out to tender? If not why not, if so what other companies made tender applications and on what grounds were they excluded?”
The second is: “On what basis does the South African National Defence Force [SANDF] require what appears to be top-of-the-line aircraft in the context of an already-overstrained defence budget?”
Thirdly, he asked: “Did the South African government approach the United States government to use surplus US Hercules C130s? If not, why not; if so, what was the outcome of these discussions?”
Fourthly, he asked: “If there is indeed a perceived political cost to using the US C130s, why was this deemed unacceptable to the South African government?”
Fifthly, he asked: “Why was the deal conducted in such secrecy? Was this related to the fact that this is a European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company [EADS] deal — the same EADS whose local subsidiary bribed former African National Congress chief whip Tony Yengeni?
“How did the government settle on the figure of eight aircraft? Could four similar aircraft not meet the needs of the SANDF?
“We believe that any deal of this nature should only be signed after a thorough investigation of how the current transport needs of the SANDF are being met. There is every possibility that the strengthening of existing arrangements may be the most cost-effective option.
“There is no doubt that the SANDF has an important role to play in peacekeeping on the continent and that an airlift capacity is an integral part of this role. However, there is no way that the South African taxpayer should be burdened with yet another expensive arms procurement package unless it is entirely necessary.”
The Mail & Guardian on Friday reported that he government is to spend R8-billion to acquire the fleet of military transport aircraft intended as the logistical platform for peacekeeping, and the deployment of the planned African Standby Force.
Cabinet spokesperson Joel Netshitenze confirmed on Thursday that Cabinet has agreed in principle to the purchase, and said a letter of intent to the supplier, Airbus Military, will be signed in the course of next week.
The Department of Transport also released a press statement on Thursday afternoon confirming the deal, after the M&G had already gone to print with its report on the acquisition.
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