Opposition parties have slammed the department of defence and state-owned military manufacturer Denel after the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) told parliament it had uncovered irregularities in procurements and the awarding of contracts
Opposition parties have slammed the department of defence and state-owned military manufacturer Denel after the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) told parliament it had uncovered irregularities in procurements and the awarding of contracts.
In just one of numerous investigations into Denel, the board of directors of arms procurement firm Armscor in 2007 allegedly approved the purchase of 264 Badger vehicles from the manufacturer in a 10-year contract worth R8.3 billion.
In terms of the contract, Armscor paid more than R8.1 billion, but only 21 vehicles were built and completed and the entity had not yet taken delivery of them, the SIU team, led by Andy Mothibi, told parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday.
Mothibi said the SIU had also investigated procurement of, or contracting for, Microsoft software licences by the department of defence and military veterans from February 2016 to July 2019, involving IT company EOH and a company referred to as “Software”.
“We’ve instituted these civil proceedings at the special tribunal for the cancellation of the 2016, [20]17 and [20]18 contracts. Combined value thereof is about R467 million,” he said.
The tribunal adjudicates civil matters related to investigations by the SIU and is mandated to recover public funds lost to corruption, fraud and other illicit money flows.
The revelations by the SIU have angered political parties, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) saying South Africa’s soldiers were paying the “ultimate price for the abhorrent mismanagement at Denel and the department of defence”.
This was in reference to the death of 13 soldiers during a rebel attack on the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) confirmed that three of its soldiers were killed in crossfire as the Congolese Defence Force and M23 rebels backed by Rwanda traded mortar bombs on Monday. Last week, nine soldiers were killed and one subsequently died of his wounds, bringing the total deaths of SANDF soldiers to 13. They were among the soldiers deployed as part of the Southern African Development Community and United Nations missions in the DRC.
“While SANDF soldiers are dying in the DRC, the SIU … confirmed that Denel received and was paid R8.3 billion for a contract signed in 2007 to deliver 264 Badger armoured personnel carriers over the following 10 years. It’s been almost 20 years since signing that 10-year contract. To date, none of these have reached our troops. Not one,” the DA said in a statement.
“A shortage of armoured vehicles has been highlighted as a critical flaw leading to previous military disasters such as the Battle of Bangui [in March 2013, during the Central African Republic civil war] … This flagrant looting is tantamount to treason; it undermines our national security.”
ActionSA said it would fight to ensure that Defence Minister Angie Motshekga “is held accountable for the specific steps she intends to take against corruption, mismanagement and incompetence within her department and related entities whose treasonous conduct has gravely compromised our national security and defence force personnel”.
Scopa chair Songezo Zibi said Motshekga was scheduled to appear before the committee on 18 February.