DA will ask Mbeki to jog his memory about arms deal
Cape Town, South Africa
19 December 2005 01:40
The Democratic Alliance on Monday accused President Thabo Mbeki of being « obfuscatory » about his involvement in the arms deal.
Mbeki had given a « completely unsatisfactory » answer to a DA question on whether he met representatives of French arms company Thomson-CSF in 1998, said DA public accounts spokesperson Eddie Trent.
The company’s South African subsidiary has been charged with corruption related to the multibillion-rand deal, along with former deputy president Jacob Zuma.
« The DA will send a copy of the president’s reply back to his office with the request that he jogs his mind on the details of the meeting in question, » Trent said.
He had asked the president whether he met representatives of Thomson-CSF in Paris in December 1998, a time when he was still deputy president and chair of the ministerial committee overseeing the arms procurement package.
Mbeki’s reply was « obfuscatory at best ».
He did not recall such a meeting, but in the course of his duties he had met and interacted with a large number of business people, he responded.
« It is inconceivable that any reasonable person should accept the president’s answer given the facts which have thus far been made public, » Trent said.
An encrypted fax from Thomson-CSF which was part of the court record in the trial of Schabir Shaik, suggested Mbeki had given an assurance that the company would be awarded the contract for a corvette combat system.
Another Thomson-CSF fax, Trent said, indicated Mbeki met company executives in France in December 1998.
« The president has a slew of aides and diary secretaries in his staff and he should ask that they consult his diary for details of this alleged meeting, » Trent said.
« A simple ’I don’t recall such a meeting’ is not good enough. »
Sapa
copyright Mail&Guardian.