WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2008-04-27 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Jan
MPs have squared up to the top brass of the government committee that oversees South Africa’s arms transactions and ordered its members to explain their part in the international furore over the Chinese arms shipment for Zimbabwe.
The members of the national conventional arms control committee will be on the carpet before the parliamentary portfolio committee on defence when parliament reconvenes in the middle of next month.
The portfolio committee also wants to discuss the arms control committee’s reports on South Africa’s arms trade dating back to 2005, and it wants the reports to be tabled in parliament and made public.
On Friday, Fezile Bhengu, the chairperson of the portfolio committee, revealed that he had written a “strong letter” to the arms control committee instructing its officials to appear before him.
The arms control committee is chaired by Sydney Mufamadi, the local and provincial government minister.
A fed-up Bhengu said he had struggled to get the arms control committee to brief MPs, though it is required to report to parliament every quarter. He was told by Mufamadi that prior commitments caused the delays in the arms control committee reporting to the portfolio committee.
Bhengu said he had complained to Baleka Mbete, the speaker of parliament, about the arms control committee’s failure to report to parliament.
He said he was warned that the arms control committee dealt with “sensitive issues” and discussions might have to be in closed session.
The last straw for Bhengu was the international furore that erupted earlier this month over the arms control committee issuing a permit for the large arms consignment aboard the Chinese ship the An Yue Jiang to be transported through South Africa to Zimbabwe.
The consignment’s passage was thwarted by court action, international trade unions and a global outcry.
Rafeek Shah, the Democratic Alliance’s spokesperson on defence, this week accused the arms control committee of failing to fulfil its reporting obligations to parliament. Shah called for an urgent review of how the arms control committee functioned.
The arms control committee responded by saying it had provided parliament with its reports for 2005 and 2006.
But Bhengu said this was disingenuous. He said that though the arms control committee had given the defence committee copies of its 2005 and 2006 reports, the reports had not been tabled in parliament and the arms control committee had not appeared before MPs to present them – and so they remained immune from public scrutiny.
The 2007 report, which was due at the end of last year, has not been issued.
The arms control committee oversees South African trade in conventional arms. Its reports detail arms exports and imports, and list the arms-related permits granted.
Dumisani Dladla, the director of conventional arms controls, this weekend confirmed that he had received the defence committee’s letter.
“The arms control committee has filed with parliament all its annual reports from 2004 to 2006. The 2007 report will be submitted very soon,” said Dladla.
Shah said the absence of tabled reports and other records of arms sales made it virtually impossible to exercise oversight of weapons transactions.
He said the arms control committee’s previous reports had indicated areas of concern – including sales of arms to Columbia, Ivory Coast, China and Zimbabwe.
Shah said: “Sources have indicated to the DA that they believe that the arms control committee is being deliberately undermined so that weapons sales to foreign countries do not have to undergo extensive scrutiny.”
In response, Dladla said: “The arms control committee has previously had a lengthy discussion with the portfolio committee on defence about arms exports.
“Mr Shah was part of these discussions. It is irresponsible for Mr Shah to make such a reckless statement about [South Africa’s] arms-export standing.”
The arms control committee’s decision to grant a permit for the consignment of arms aboard the An Yue Jiang caused a furore at home and internationally.
The Durban High Court last week ordered that the weapons be impounded and suspended the ship’s conveyancing permit pending further court action. The arms were said to include tons of ammunition, assault rifles, mortar bombs and rockets.
Before the sheriff could serve the court papers on the master of the vessel, the An Yue Jiang fled to international waters and sailed around the South African coast. It is now believed to be returning to China.
Mufamadi – who is President Thabo Mbeki’s special envoy to Zimbabwe – has said nothing about the shipment.
January Masilela, the defence secretary, who heads the sub-committee that granted the permit, defended the decision by saying that there is no arms embargo against Zimbabwe. But the Arms Control Committee Act provides for the cancellation, suspension or amendment of an arms conveyance permit in the interests of maintaining peace and avoiding contributing to repression.
The arms control committee’s guiding principles purportedly include human rights and preventing the transfer of arms to unstable regions.
Though mystery surrounds the contents of the arms control committee annual reports for the past few years, the committee has submitted annual reports to the United Nations. But these reports lack the detail of those the committee presents to parliament.
According to the UN conventional arms register, recipients of conventional weaponry from South Africa in recent years include Angola, Ghana, Senegal, Sweden, Zambia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Gabon, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil.
The register lists China as reporting last year that it sold six aircrafts to Zimbabwe.