President Thabo Mbeki’s role in the United Nations oil-for-food programme is to be questioned by the Democratic Alliance.
”President Thabo Mbeki must explain how he allowed South Africa’s diplomatic support to be bought by the government of the blood-thirsty, and now deposed, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein,” DA leader Tony Leon said on Friday.
”This is the implication of the report which accuses Imvume [Management], in effect an ANC [African National Congress] front company run by Oilgate’s Sandi Majali, of contravening the OFF [oil-for-food programme] by profiting from lucrative oil contracts in exchange for South Africa’s diplomatic support, and of giving substantial kickbacks to the Hussein regime,” he said.
It appears Mbeki stood by while South Africa’s foreign-policy position on Iraq was sold in exchange for the financial gain of empowerment company Imvume Management’s CEO Majali and the ANC.
”This raises very serious questions about the true intentions of the government’s shuttle diplomacy just before the United States-led invasion of Iraq.
”At the time, the government claimed its only objective was to avoid war, yet it can now be credibly argued that it was actually a desperate attempt to protect a close friend as well as lucrative business contracts,” Leon said.
Earlier on Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the government has seen the UN report naming Imvume as colluding with the previous Iraqi government.
”However, we still have to study the full text of the report before we can give a comprehensive response,” departmental spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said.
He could not say when this process would be completed.
Imvume contract
The Mail & Guardian reported that a UN independent inquiry focused on Hussein’s efforts to bypass international sanctions by soliciting kickbacks for awarding oil contracts.
This process allegedly saw Imvume pay Iraq $60 000 of a promised $464 000 to obtain a contract to buy two million barrels of oil for South Africa’s Strategic Fuel Fund.
The report found Majali had used the names of Mbeki and ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe in negotiations with Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz.
Aziz apparently wanted to award an oil contract to South Africa to strengthen ties between the two countries as part of what the paper called the Iraqi government’s policy of ”crude diplomacy”.
Quoting from the UN report, the newspaper reported that the UN had found documents proving the $60 000 payment and describing Majali as ”adviser to the president of South Africa”.
The UN could not determine who had deposited the money at the Central Bank of Iraq.
The M&G reported that the Iraqis might have had good reason to believe Majali was an adviser to Mbeki, as Motlanthe and ANC treasurer Mendi Msimang had accompanied the oil magnate to Baghdad on one of his trips.
Motlanthe had also written to Iraq in anticipation of a Majali visit, saying he had the ANC’s ”full approval and blessing”.
Motlanthe had not responded to the M&G‘s inquiries before it went to press.
ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama told the M&G the party would take legal advice before commenting.
Imvume said it had initially been unaware that the kickbacks, described as ”surcharges”, were illegal.
The M&G reported that Imvume and Majali denied making the $60 000 payment.
”Imvume and Majali deny having paid any amount in respect of any surcharge on this (or any other) allocation and deny that they made any advance payment of $60 000 or at all. It is also inconceivable that anyone else paid this amount on behalf of Imvume,” Imvume said. — Sapa