MEDIA STATEMENT BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL DEFENCE UNION ON THE DECISION BY THE PARLIAMENTARY PORTFOLIO COMMITEE ON DEFENCE TO HAVE A CLOSED BRIEFING ON THE INTENDED ARMS ACQUISITION
SANDU condemns strongly the above decision by the relevant committee to keep the public in the dark about intended arms acquisitions.
The South African public have a right to know exactly how the Defence budget is being spent. It is contradictory for government on the one hand to concede that the previous secret arms deals be investigated for accountability whilst at the same time the latest intended purchases are clouded in secrecy.
It further utterly disconcerting that it now remains unclear as to whether the real concerns and needs of soldiers on the ground have been given any attention in the intended acquisitions and that there is no way of establishing same whilst the process is shrouded in secrecy.
The parliamentary committee is directly blamed for assisting the SANDF in its unhealthy obsession of keeping Defence matters secret under the veil of national security when in fact the matters concerned ought to be subject to public scrutiny. The committee appears to forget that its duty is of watchdog and not assisting in obscuring transparency.
SANDU is concerned that reports seem to suggest that the acquisitions do not even begin to address the need for very basic and essential equipment in the SA Army such as mobile kitchens, medical kits, ambulances and personnel carriers. To the opposite, it apparently intends to buy warships at a time when the SA Navy does not even have the capability to properly staff and maintain the vessels it currently has.
The apparent skewed priorities and accompanying secrecy under the Zuma administration, seems all too similar to the previous and disastrous arms acquisition fiasco, in which the name of the current President also featured prominently.
SANDU calls on the public and civil rights organisations to demand transparency in this matter and will support any effort to force this mater into the open including the taking of legal action if necessary.
Statement issued by JG Greeff, SANDU national secretary, July 20 2013
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