Arms deal hearing postponed
2013-02-26 21:39
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Johannesburg - Public hearings on South Africa's
multi-million rand arms deal have been postponed, the Arms Procurement
Commission said on Tuesday.
Spokesperson William Baloyi said the hearings, which were
scheduled to start on 4 March, had been moved to 5 August.
The delays were because of developments in the
investigation.
Baloyi said hefty documents not seen previously by
evidence leaders and the commission had been presented by witnesses.
"There is insufficient time to peruse and analyse
these, supplement the commission’s bundles, consult with the witnesses in
respect of such documents and deal with the issues arising there from," he
said.
Baloyi said witnesses had also been making allegations
against other individuals and entities.
"The adjournment will enable the investigations
relating to these and other allegations to be completed, and adequate notice to
be given to all implicated persons," he said.
The commission was also still awaiting reports from
specialist investigators.
The arms deal commission was instigated by President
Jacob Zuma.
In October 2011, Zuma announced that Supreme Court of
Appeal Judge Willie Seriti would chair the three-man commission of inquiry,
assisted by judges Hendrick Musi and Francis Legodi.
In January, one of the commission's senior investigators,
lawyer Norman Moabi, accused it of having a second agenda.
Moabi, a former acting judge from Pretoria, alleged in a
letter leaked to media that the commission was not transparent and concealed a
"second agenda".
Moabi wrote in the letter, addressed to Seriti, that he
was resigning because of interference and because he had lost faith in the
commission's work.
According to Moabi, Seriti ruled the commission with an
iron fist.
He claimed facts were manipulated or withheld from
commissioners.
Contributions from commissioners not pursuing the
"second agenda" were frequently ignored, he alleged.
Challenged
Seriti challenged Moabi to provide proof of his claims.
Initially, Judge Willem van der Merwe - the judge who acquitted
Zuma on a rape charge - was appointed to help Seriti, alongside Legodi.
However, in December 2011, the presidency said Van der
Merwe would not be able to serve on the commission, for personal reasons.
Zuma then appointed Free State High Court Judge President
Musi to replace Van der Merwe.
In May 2012, commission secretary Mvuseni Ngubane was
found dead in his car in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal.
Police said a suicide note was found near the body, but
parts of it were illegible because of blood stains. It was thus not clear why
he committed suicide.
Ngubane would have been responsible for managing the
commission's budget and ensuring it had administrative support.
The multi-million rand arms deal has dogged South
Africa's politics since it was signed in 1999, after then Pan Africanist
Congress MP Patricia de Lille raised allegations of corruption in Parliament.
Zuma was himself charged with corruption after his
financial adviser Schabir Shaik, who had a tender to supply part of the
requirements, was found to have facilitated a bribe for him from a French arms
company.
The charges against Zuma were later dropped.
- SAPA
