Posts

CORRUPTION NEWS

Whistle-blowers in the hot seat at inquiry

By Anine Kriegler and Murray Hunter The arms companies have successfully avoided scrutiny at the Seriti Commission, essentially putting the whistle-blowers and critics on trial. The absence of the arms companies from the Seriti Commission is telling. The commission’s first phase was focused on the arms deal’s rationale – why the South African government bought Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Van Vuuren defiant at Seriti Commission

By Lee-Ann Alfreds Hennie van Vuuren, the arms deal critic who withdrew from the Arms Procurement Commission in August, appeared before it on Monday, 20 October, as instructed. The week before, Van Vuuren told Corruption Watch that "I have been summonsed to appear on 20 October and will be at the Arms Procurement Commission at Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Civil society asks for dissolution of arms commission

More than 30 local social justice organisations, including Corruption Watch, have issued a joint call for real arms deal accountability. Read their statement below: The 1999 arms deal represents up to R70-billion that should have been spent on housing, education, health and South Africa’s other pressing social needs. The arms deal corrupted our politics, weakened Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Respond to subpoena, or face criminal charges

By Lee-Ann Alfreds Will they or won’t they? That is the question as the rumbling around the credibility of the Arms Procurement Commission becomes a roar. Will arms deal critics Hennie van Vuuren, Andrew Feinstein and Paul Holden appear before the commission as they have been ordered to do – or will they obey their Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Woods: there is a “high probability” of corruption

By Lee-Ann Alfreds Gavin Woods epitomises the saying “when his country called, he answered”. Fourteen years after his and co-chairman of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Andrew Feinstein’s, harrowing attempts to discover the truth behind allegations of corruption in the arms deal, the former IFP member is once again trying to help uncover the Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Seriti Commission not fair or consistent

By Lee-Ann Alfreds The withdrawal of arms deal critics Andrew Feinstein, Paul Holden and Hennie van Vuuren from the Arms Procurement Commission was not surprising in light of the unfair treatment meted out to detractors who have participated in proceedings. This was the unanimous verdict of civil society organisations and arms deal and constitutional experts Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Commission not going to fulfil its mandate?

By Lee-Ann Alfreds THE Arms Procurement Commission is a “waste of taxpayers’ money”. Speaking on Friday 29 August, a day after he and fellow critics Paul Holden and Hennie van Vuuren announced they were withdrawing from the inquiry, Andrew Feinstein said while they had “really wanted this commission to work”, they had concluded they could Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

LHR and clients pull out of Seriti Commission

Source: Lawyers for Human Rights Media statement: Withdrawal from the Arms Procurement Commission The arms deal was a uniquely damaging moment in our young democratic history. It was concluded after decades of uncontrolled spending on foreign and internal wars by the apartheid regime. From the signing of the contracts in 1999 up to R70-billion of Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Staff turnover at the Seriti Commission

By Lee-Ann Alfreds The Arms Procurement Commission is ending as it started – dogged by resignations. One year almost to the day after it was forced to delay the start of public hearings because of the resignation of one of its commissioners, the Seriti Commission – which is probing allegations of graft and corruption in Read more >