Manuel 'damaging himself and SA'

2008-02-26 14:50

Cape Town - Finance Minister Trevor Manuel was damaging his own reputation and that of SA by seeking a gagging order in court, arms deal activist Terry Crawford-Browne said on Tuesday.

The Cape High Court on Monday heard an urgent application by Manuel for an order to stop Crawford-Browne claiming he was guilty of corruption over the multi-billion rand arms deal.

Judge Andre le Grange is expected to hand down his decision later this week.

However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, Crawford-Browne said that should Manuel succeed in gagging him, he would compound the international image of South Africa "as a country where corruption and crime are out of control".

"He will also have shredded our constitutional commitments to ministerial accountability and freedom of expression," he said.

"It is he, not I, who is damaging both his and South Africa's reputation.

Mockery

"A gagging order would make a mockery of the guarantees contained in the Constitution that is the foundation of our constitutional democracy."

Crawford-Browne, author of the recently-published Eye on the Money, which details his long-running campaign to overturn the arms deal, said that after ten years of "governmental lies and attempted cover-ups", a fully transparent and independent investigation of the arms deal was imperative.

He said that despite what he said were the government's efforts to block a thorough investigation, "bribery" by successful arms deal bidder BAE was now under scrutiny by authorities in eight countries plus the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Instead of denial, damage control would better serve South Africa's interests.

Crawford-Browne said that when he told Manuel to his face that he had "prostituted" himself when he signed international loan agreements to fund the deal, his use of the word "was both accurate and appropriate".

The arms deal, finalised in 1999, includes the purchase of the Hawk and Gripen aircraft, frigates and four submarines from Germany, and 40 Agusta helicopters from Italy.

- SAPA