Leave the killing business

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s reputation and his credibility in tackling corruption will be severely compromised if he permits Saudi Arabian Military Industries to take an equity interest in Denel or Paramount. (Saudis mull stake in Denel and transfer of its defence technology, October 4). Two of his predecessors were removed from office because of their collusion in the arms deal scandal.

Denel was revealed in 1994 as being irredeemably incompetent and irredeemably corrupt. Billions upon billions of rand of public money have nevertheless been poured down a drain under the illusion that killing foreigners for profit is a lucrative business. It is past time SA closed down its apartheid-era arms industry, which in the words of Oliver Tambo is a — “Frankenstein monster that cannot be redeemed and should be destroyed”.

Rheinmetall-Denel Munitions has recently been internationally exposed as complicit in Saudi Arabian war crimes in Yemen. Eight of its workers were killed in an explosion at its plant in Somerset West in September. There is also outrage in the US, Britain, Canada, Germany, Spain and other countries about their governments’ collusion with the Saudis in that humanitarian catastrophe. In addition to human rights abuses, the Saudi government is notorious for corruption.

Terry Crawford-Browne World Beyond War SA