By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni on Friday said, that the government had no knowledge of weapons being loaded onto a Russian vessel that docked at the Simon’s Town naval base in Cape Town.
Ntshavheni insisted that government’s National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), which deals with the regulation and control of the trade in conventional arms, did not approve the sale of weapons to Russia.
“There is no official authorisation for weapons to be sold to Russia and Ukraine. Whether weapons were loaded or not; that’s another matter. There is no authorisation, and if the weapons were loaded in the vessel, the inquiry will determine that.”
She was speaking to the media on the sidelines of Colombia’s vice president Francia Elena Márquez’s visit to South Africa on Friday.
The US ambassador, Reuben Brigety claimed in a media briefing on Thursday that South Africa provided weapons and ammunition to Russia.
The minister also said South Africa will not allow itself to be bullied by the US, even if it threatens to cancel bilateral trade between the two countries through the African Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa), from which SA benefits around R400 billion annually in trade.
“We are a sovereign state, we have our own rules. And just to assure South Africans, in terms of the allegations that we have sold armaments to Russia, we have explained that there is a process that is followed when arms are sold in this country.
“And the committee, the National Conventional Arms Control Committee, has not received or considered an application for the sale of arms to either Russia, Ukraine or Belarus,” added Ntshavheni.
The Presidency has already announced that the government will establish an independent inquiry to investigate claims.
Ntshavheni said the purpose of the inquiry into the allegations, which will be led by a retired judge, will be to determine whether the arms deal occurred without the government’s knowledge.
“All those things are the matters that are going to be determined in the inquiry because there were multiple set of players like the defence and the South African Revenue Service.”
The Department of International Relations and Co-operation also vowed to take diplomatic steps against the ambassador for his comments.