A serving cabinet minister and a retired South African National Defence Force (SANDF) major-general stand to make millions from a deal with Airbus that can bankrupt the SANDF.
At R47 billion the Airbus jets will consume the entire SAAF budget for at least three years.
Yesterday The Citizen established that among those set to make a killing from the deal are a serving cabinet minister and a retired SANDF general and the widow of controversial Defence Minister Joe Modise.
On April 28, 2005 South Africa signed a deal with Airbus for the delivery of eight jets capable of ferrying heavy equipment such as armoured vehicles and large helicopters as well as combat troops thousands of kilometres.
The deal was inexplicable as the SAAF already owned a fleet of 12 C130 transport aircraft that had been extensively modernised and upgraded by Marshall Aviation in Britain and Thales in France.
Only months after the deal was signed, Major-General Jackie Sedibe was made a director of Aerosud, a South African company which is the local business partner of Airbus. Aerosud stand to make millions from the deal.
At the time Sedibe joined the board she was still a serving SANDF officer.
Department of defence spokesman Ndivhuwo Mabaya told The Citizen that officers of Sedibe’s rank were allowed to hold business interests, providing they had the permission of the Minister of Defence.
It is not clear if Sedibe had this permission at the time she joined Aerosud, which holds a number of contracts with the SANDF and department of defence.
Another director of Aerosud is Deputy Minister of Correctional Services Hlengiwe Mkhize. Mkhize became a director of Aerosud in 2000.
Sisulu 'knew about arms deal for months'
The Democratic Alliance on Friday called on Defence and Military Veterans Minister Lindiwe Sisulu to reveal the Airbus A400M military transport aircraft acquisition details.
Information about the dodgy Airbus A400M arms deal should be made public and investigated by a special multiparty ad hoc committee of Parliament, DA spokesman David Maynier said.
On Thursday, Sisulu stated information about the deal should not have been made public because it was embarrassing and compromised diplomatic relations.
"But it now emerges that the minister was briefed and informed about the Airbus A400M deal.
"The fact is that the minister was informed and has known about the risk posed by the Airbus A400M arms deal for months.
"The minister appears to be reverting to her default position which is to cover up rather than to open up," Maynier said.
The key question was why, if the minister knew about the massive risk posed by the deal, was the parliamentary portfolio committee on defence and military veterans not informed, he said.
The latest revelations about the deal raised even more questions including whose interests were really served with revelations that Deputy Correctional Services Minister Hlengiwe Mkhize and former Major-General Jackie Sedibe were directors of Aerosud, a local company with an interest in the Airbus A400M arms deal.
- What was the real cost of the eight transport aircraft, given the Airbus claim that the R47 billion price tag was exaggerated?
- Why was there a failure to provide for maintenance costs of the transport aircraft,
- why in the first place was there no tender process for the acquisition of the aircraft,
"The public has a right to know not only how we got into the Airbus A400M mess, but also how we are going to dig ourselves out of the Airbus A400M mess.
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