HELEN ZILLE, the leader of South Africa’s opposition, has accused the government of a “massive cover-up” after an investigation into alleged bribery related to a $4.8 billion (€3.4 billion) arms deal in 1999 was abandoned.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations, a police unit specialising in tackling corruption known as the “Hawks”, announced this month that the last two strands of the decade-long probe, which looked into alleged secret payments by defence companies, including BAE Systems and France’s Thales International, had been closed.
A spokesman said the evidence available was “contaminated”, and that continuing the probe would be a waste of public funds. Schabir Shaik, president Jacob Zuma’s former financial adviser, was convicted in 2005 of soliciting a bribe from Thales and of illegally paying Mr Zuma more than $150,000. Mr Zuma was subsequently charged with corruption, but charges were dropped last year after alleged political interference in the case against him. He has denied any wrongdoing in relation to the arms deal, as have BAE and Thales.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Ms Zille, leader of the Democratic Alliance and premier of the Western Cape province, said substantial evidence had been unearthed of "procurement deals that didn't follow due process or the needs of the military, precisely to secure benefits for the ANC [the ruling African National Congress] as a party, and key individuals".
She said the decision to stop the investigation reflected the subversion of state institutions as a result of the ANC’s policy of deploying its members into key positions.
“How is it possible, with a constitution with so many checks and balances, for a government to stage such a massive cover-up successfully,” she said. “Patronage lies at the heart of the problem. The ANC has undermined our constitution without changing a single word of it.”
Themba Maseko, a government spokesman, denied there had been any political interference. “The decision was an operational decision taken by the investigators,” he said. “The Hawks are headed by an experienced policeman doing the job to the best of his ability.” Ms Zille also voiced concern about the potential impact of the protection of information Bill, which would give state officials a broad remit to keep information secret. The Bill allows for jail terms of up to 25 years and makes no provision for a public interest defence. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010