The secrecy around the Arms Deal offset programme must end. The lead story in today's City Press disclosed that German arms company Ferrostaal has made an investment of an undisclosed amount in the forthcoming Nelson Mandela movie "The Long Walk to Freedom". No details are provided on the terms of Ferrostaal's investment, made as part of their Arms Deal commitment.
Tomorrow I will submit a parliamentary question to Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies to clarify the structuring of this deal.
The R48bn Arms Deal was signed on the condition that international contractors would "offset" their contracts with job-creating investments in South Africa under the National Industrial Participation Programme (NIPP). However, for the past ten years, the Department of Trade and Industry has consistently failed to provide full and comprehensive reporting on this programme. This has made it impossible for anyone to assess its success or failure.
The investment by Ferrostaal is disclosed in a single line in the NIPP Performance Review 2009. No further details are provided. It appears to be the only project that is not industrial or agricultural in nature, but is one of hundreds that are not reported on properly.
In contrast, a handful of other projects are listed with significantly more detail on their structure, the amounts investment, jobs created, skills transferred and exports generated. If proper reporting could be done on these projects, why was full reporting not done on Ferrostaal's investment in "Long Walk to Freedom"?
I will be asking the Trade and Industry Minister several critical questions:
- How much money was invested?
- How is the deal structured?
- How many jobs were, or will be, created?
- Will any of the profits of the movie accrue back to the Arms Deal Company?
- What is the opportunity cost Ferrostaal's investment in the R260m movie?
* Tim Harris MP is the DA's Shadow Minister of Trade and Industry. A graduate of the University of Cape Town, Harris worked as an economics researcher for the Democratic Alliance between 2004 and 2005, before being appointed Chief of Staff to then party leader Tony Leon. He served as the party's Campaign Events Manager during the 2009 election campaign.
