Confidential audit report shows meltdown in South Africa's arms control regime

As detailed in the lead story of this morning's City Press, a damning confidential report by the Auditor-General demonstrates that South Africa's arms control regime is in a state of advanced crisis, with the upshot that South African arms sales may be fuelling brutal dictators and rogue regimes (see report). It is now simply imperative that action is taken to get a grip on the administrative meltdown at the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC).

This morning's report sets out the findings of a damning report by the Auditor-General on the NCACC. That report finds that the NCACC:

• "did not understand and exercise their oversight responsibility related to the issuing of permits and related controls"; and that
• "permits were issued without the proper authorisation, delegation or ratification of the NCACC".

Moreover, the report finds that:

• The register of permits for the international sale of conventional weapons is not up to date and some permits cannot be traced.
• At least 58 arms transactions with clients in at least 26 countries took place without the legally required input by relevant government departments.
• For at least 17 transactions there are no delivery verifications certificates, meaning arms could have been sold to rogue states.
• In some cases the certificate indicating the end-user is missing.

This is concrete evidence of an almost complete administrative breakdown that has persisted for a number of years at the NCACC. This problem has to be fixed - fast.

The country cannot afford to have any more dodgy deals that arm the dictators of the world falling through the very wide administrative cracks at the NCACC.

The DA will therefore call on Nyami Booi, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, to:

• schedule an urgent oversight visit for members of the portfolio committee to the officers of the Directorate of Conventional Arms Control (DCAC); and
• schedule an urgent meeting with Jeff Radebe, Chairperson of the NCACC, to brief members of the portfolio committee on the steps being taken to improve the administrative capacity of the NCACC.

Statement issued by David Maynier, MP, Democratic Alliance shadow minister of defence and military veterans, January 31 2010

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