Failure to disclose information on investigations into allegations of bribery against Shamin ”Chippy” Shaik by the Public Protector reflects badly on the country’s reputation, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Sunday.
”This lack of transparency and progress in this regard does not reflect well and can only harm our reputation abroad,” said the opposition party’s arms-deal spokesperson, Eddie Trent.
His statement followed a request made by the DA to Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana in February, asking for a full investigation into the Shaik issue.
Since then, Mushwana’s office, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Auditor General, Terence Nombembe, have met to discuss the possibility of a joint investigation into the new allegations of corruption around the multibillion-rand arms deal.
Mushwana’s office said the allegations will not be jointly investigated by the three state agencies, but dealt with separately in terms of each institution’s mandate.
The DA then requested to be provided with a comprehensive update on the status of the investigations.
”It is in the public interest that the investigation process be transparent and swift, and that the public be kept informed of the investigation’s progress,” Trent said. ”I made this request in a letter to the Public Protector’s office last week.”
Mushwana’s spokesperson Charles Phahlane said he was not aware of a letter sent by the DA on the matter. ”I wasn’t aware of such a letter by Thursday. If they did send it, I’ll find it and will respond to them.”
He said when Mushwana made an announcement that the Shaik matter would be investigated separately by three bodies, he had indicated that a report regarding a decision to investigate would only be released either towards the end of April or beginning of May.
Shaik, brother of fraud convict Schabir Shaik, was allegedly paid a $3-million (about R21-million) bribe by one of the arms-deal bidding companies, Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine recently reported.
According to the magazine, internal documents of Thyssen Krupp, a German company that supplied the South African Navy with four frigates, reveal that Shaik requested the bribe in 1998. The company apparently deposited the money to a non-existent company in London in 2000.
Shaik was head of procurement at the Defence Department at the time.
South African authorities are coming under increased pressure from law-enforcement agencies in Sweden, Germany and Britain to assist with the investigation into allegations that several South Africans were paid to secure deals during the arms-deal bidding process. — Sapa