A Charming Gaul

SCOPA hears “arms deal” detail as Thales and president-presumptive Jacob Zuma appear in court
 
It’s a red letter day for aficionados of South Africa’s long-running “arms deal scandal” with the matter receiving an airing in the country’s legislature and in one of its High Courts.
 
Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) is meeting for the tabling of new “arms deal” related submissions and the country’s president-presumptive Jacob Zuma as well as two subsidiaries of French defence group Thales briefly graced the dock in the Pietermaritzburg High Court in on charges that include bribery and corruption.
 
Zuma as well as Thales International (Thint) Holdings (Southern Africa) Pty Ltd and Thint (Pty) Ltd were in court to hear when they could apply to the bench for a permanent stay of prosecution on allegations that relate to the R47 billion 1999 Strategic Defence Package that saw SA acquire 50 fighter aircraft, 30 helicopters, four frigates and three submarines.    
 
The Times reports the “two Thints”, represented by local Thales country manager Pierre Moynot (photo), will be back in court on 24 June to apply for a permanent stay of prosecution.
 
Zuma will make his application 25 August, when he is likely to be head of state. If their applications are dismissed, Moynot and Zuma will on that day also hear their trial date.
 
The “two Thints” each face one charge of racketeering, two of corruption and one of money-laundering.
 
Zuma may have to answer to one charge of racketeering, another of money laundering, two of corruption and 12 of fraud.
 
 
SCOPA
 
Meanwhile, Democratic Alliance MP Eddie Trent is tabling submissions related to alleged SDP impropriety that he says “will provide a compelling new case for the reopening of investigations into the arms deal”.
 
Trent, who sits on SCOPA says the watchdog body “has in the past committed to reconsidering an independent investigation into the arms deal when ‘new evidence [is] brought to light’.”
 
He says this was confirmed in the minutes of a SCOPA meeting on 29 January 2008.
 
“In order to set about obtaining and compiling new information, I invited members of the public to make submissions to SCOPA on 12 November last year, and we have subsequently received wide-ranging and impressive testimony from many of the individuals most intricately involved in the arms deal.
 
“[Today] I look forward to addressing several critical matters that any reasonable person will view as constituting new evidence and remain completely unresolved at present”.
 
These include:

         “Various allegations of corruption which have emerged from and during the UK Serious Fraud Office’s investigation into the more than £110m commission paid by BAE Systems, of which more than £75m is believed to have been transferred to South African beneficiaries through a network of BAE front companies in the British Virgin Islands.

         “Documentary evidence that the SANDF’s former head of procurement lied to SCOPA, and has received $3m from a successful bidder in the arms deal. To date, no action at all has been taken against this individual.

         “Affidavits recently submitted by prosecutors that reveal new information on the mechanisms used to pay bribes, and which led to raids on the premises of Mr Fana Hlongwane and Mr John Bredenkamp.

         “Unresolved anomalies concerning possible irregularities during the production of the Joint Investigation Report.
 
“As these are clearly matters of the utmost urgency, we trust that the ANC members of SCOPA will be present at the meeting, so that the documents can be tabled and discussed. Delaying-tactics have already cost the committee weeks of valuable time, and it is now crucial that all parties commit to considering a matter that is manifestly of great public concern,” Trent said.
 
With acknowledgements to Leon Engelbrecht and defenceWeb.