Scopa presses govt on arms deal

2003-06-04 17:22

Cape Town - Parliament's watchdog public accounts committee (Scopa) wants National Assembly Speaker Dr Frene Ginwala to decide the way forward on allegations surrounding the probe into the country's multi-billion rand arms deal.

"It is important that the correct route be taken," Scopa chair Francois Beukman said on Wednesday.

The last resolution taken on the arms deal was a resolution of parliament and not the committee, and, therefore, parliament was the forum to decide if claims, that the final report of the probe was edited, should be investigated.

Beukman also refuted media reports that government's legal adviser had suggested the multi-agency probe should be re-opened.

The Democratic Alliance has requested that Scopa - the parliamentary committee that initially asked for the probe into allegations of irregularities surrounding the deal - put the controversy back on its agenda.

This follows claims the final arms deal report - unveiled in parliament in November 2001 - was heavily edited, and left out findings on gifts received by key players in the deal, as well as suggestions Scopa had been mislead.

The deal was investigated by the auditor-general, public protector and directorate of public prosecutions.

Parliament's legal advisers, in an opinion presented to Scopa on Wednesday, advised the committee that it did have the power to investigate the extent to which the report had been edited.

However, it made no recommendation on whether the arms deal should be re-investigated.

The African National Congress in Scopa rejected a DA request that the committee make a recommendation to Ginwala on how Parliament should investigate the matter.

ANC public accounts study group chair Vincent Smith said this would be "putting the cart before the horse" as the claims were merely media reports.

Parliament, rather than Scopa, should decide the way forward, he said.

Last week, DA leader Tony Leon asked Ginwala to set up a special ad hoc committee to investigate the allegations that AG Shauket Fakie had edited the final arms deal report.

- SAPA