In Sweden, as in South Africa, the ghosts of the arms deal keep returning to haunt top politicians. On Wednesday night Swedish channel 4 investigative programme Kalla Facta (Cold Facts) broadcast a new take on corruption allegations related to the sale of Saab Gripen jet fighters to South Africa in 1999.
The programme focused on the role of Stefan Löfven — a former head of the Swedish industrial union IF Metall, and the current leader of the Social Democratic party leading the polls in the run-up to election in 2014. In 1999 Löfven was the head of Metall’s international section and — according to the programme — a good friend of Moses Mayekiso, the former general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa). The focus of the programme was an odd agreement announced in July 1999 when Numsa and the SA National Civics Organisation (Sanco) announced their joint support for the Saab Gripen bid. The public support, from what were touted as “two of South Africa’s largest labour and community Organisations” was crucial at a time when government was considering postponing the jet purchase due to budget constraints. Mayekiso had by then left Numsa to lead Sanco, though he remained influential within the union. School The announcement referred to “reciprocal agreements”, by which Saab would support NUMSA in establishing an Industrial School modeled on Saab’s advanced training facility in Sweden and noted that the initiative was supported by Metall and another big Swedish union. But rumours that the Saab-Metall initiative was a cover for the payment of dubious sweeteners or commissions were already swirling. Arms deal activist Terry Crawford-Browne has written: “In December 1998 I was invited by the Numsa to participate in a workshop in Johannesburg on the arms deal… Numsa officials then informed me that additional bribes of R30 million were being laundered… via two Swedish trade unions, ostensibly to fund an industrial training school but, in reality, to bribe South African parliamentarians to support the arms deal.” The allegations were aired by Crawford-Browne and then Pan Africanist Congress MP Patricia de Lille in late 1999 as part of the initial arms deal dossier — but no real evidence was forthcoming. Now Cold Facts has gone back to old Numsa sources and records to demonstrate that, at the very least, there was something to hide. Minutes The Swedish journalists accessed Numsa central committee minutes that show there was serious concern within the union following the Crawford-Browne revelations. One extract notes: “The allegations made …around the union receiving kick backs… should not be ignored… there is a great need to institute an investigation to clear the organisation.” Numsa’s then newly appointed General Secretary Silumko Nondwangu and the Numsa Central Committee convened an internal investigation. “We decided that we would send a delegation to Sweden to investigate the allegations, speak to our Swedish counterparts, speak to anyone else in Sweden who would know exactly about whether Numsa would have been offered a school as an offset to the arms deal,” Nondwangu told Swedish television. The minutes uncovered by the Swedish investigation are more blunt: “The NOB (National Office Bearers) sensitise the meeting [about] the suggested trip… The meeting was cautioned by the NOBs that it seems the aim of the trip is to win the hearts and minds of the comrades that will be sent to Sweden…” Visit In June 2000 Numsa training coordinator Melanie Samson, treasurer Philemon Shiburi and central committee member Petrus Ncgobo arrived in Sweden. Löfven played the central role in hosting the visit. The day after their arrival they were taken to the Linköping aircraft factory for a meeting with Metall and Saab. Ngcobo told Swedish journalists the delegation was concerned about a missing page or paragraphs in the purported agreement which had been signed on the union’s behalf: “Why is this clause missing? To us it was not as if it was not a mistake.” Shiburi says on camera: “They continued denying that there is a page missing and we left the meeting without getting the final page which we were looking for.” The visitors took an early plane home, but a few weeks later, received confirmation that the missing page really indeed existed. It has been sent to Numsa’s leadership, but the text of two paragraphs is blackened out. Distance Numsa decided to distance itself from any project linked to the arms deal, but continued to seek assistance from Metall for an anti-AIDS programme. Nondwangu told the M&G: “During our investigations we could not even make out the agreement supposedly signed by Numsa and the union because there were pages missing and words blocked out. On that basis we could not make out a conclusion. “We remained suspicious that something could have happened we don’t know what but because no one would own up we decided to close the investigations.” SAAB and Svenska Metall deny that there were any irregularities — as does Mayekiso. Metall says they have no record of the agreement. SAAB says it is confidential. Swedes, like South Africans, still want answers. * Got a tip-off for us about this story? Email [email protected] 
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