DTI is using the sub judice rule to hide a report on the arms deal offsets

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, is using the sub judice rule to hide a project-by-project performance review of all arms deal offsets titled ‘Strategic Defence Package: National Industrial Participation Programme (NIPP) Performance Review'.

To his credit, the Minister ordered a project-by-project performance review of all arms deal offsets.

This followed the controversy, which has raged for more than a decade, about the arms deal offsets. 

The final report of the arms deal offset performance review was supposed to be completed on 30 September 2013 and tabled in Parliament. 

We know, from information already crowbarred out of the Trade and Industry Department, that there are serious questions about the arms deal offsets including the fact that: 

• 13 690 new jobs were created as a result of the arms deal offsets rather than the promised 65 000; 
• R6 billion worth of direct investment flowed from the arms deal offsets rather than the promised R110 billion; and 
• That some arms deal offset projects, including the Denel/Saab Aerospace project, could not be properly evaluated by the Trade and Industry Department, and yet still received a total credit of over US$1 billion.

However, the Minister informed me, in a letter received on 22 November 2013, that the matter is now sub judice as follows:

"I am advised that this matter is sub judice under the Terms of Reference of the Commission of Inquiry into allegations of fraud, corruption, impropriety or irregularity in the Strategic Defence Procurement Package (The SDPP). The Department of Trade and Industry will therefore not table this matter before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee until such time that it is legally possible to do so".

This is a dramatic about turn given the fact that the Minister has previously indicated that the final report would be tabled in Parliament.

The Minister seems to have gotten cold feet and has now effectively buried the final report at the Arms Procurement Commission.

I will, therefore, write to Judge Willie Seriti, requesting him to:

Confirm whether the final report of the arms deal offset performance review has been handed to the Commission; and

Assuming the final report has been handed to the Commission, for the Commission to make the final report public.

It is imperative to access the final report, not least to assist in the cross examination of former Minister of Trade and Industry, Alec Erwin, and officials who were responsible for implementing the arms deal offset programme at the Department of Trade and Industry.

Statement issued by David Maynier MP, DA Shadow Minister of Defence & Military Veterans, November 26 2013

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter