'Charge car-discount cronies'

2007-03-20 16:14

Cape Town - Patricia de Lille, leader of the Independent Democrats, says the national prosecuting authority must charge those who benefited from discounted luxury vehicles as a result of the arms deal.

The NPA must now charge the 29 people, including the former head of the defence force, Siphiwe Nyanda, and African National Congress MP Lumka Yengeni, who received massive discounts on luxury cars from a German company that benefited from the arms deal.

De Lille said on Tuesday that NPA boss Vusi Pikoli should move swiftly to charge those whose names had been revealed by Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota in response to a parliamentary question.

So far, only former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni (whose name is also on the list of 30) has been prosecuted in connection with the discounted luxury vehicles bought from Daimler-Chrysler by its sister company - the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (Eads).

Company pleaded guilty

Eads was part of a consortium awarded a tender to provide South Africa with arms.

De Lille said the company had pleaded guilty in Germany in 2001 to bribery, which related to the cars given to top South African public officials in a bid to buy their influence in the arms procurement processes.

"We now have the names of those South Africans who benefited from these massive discounts and the NPA must move swiftly to prosecute them," said De Lille.

During a recent trip to Germany, the prosecuting authority there said the MD of Daimler Aerospace had escaped prosecution for corruption because, at the time of the payment of the bribes, he could not be prosecuted in terms of German law.

"Even so, he paid an acknowledgment of guilt to the tune of 15 000 Deutsche Mark (about R71 313) for embezzlement.

"This acknowledgement of guilt was a confirmation that he supplied luxury vehicles at heavily discounted prices to 30 South Africans, including Tony Yengeni."

- News24