Saudis seek SA weapons expertise

Saudi Arabia’s interest in pushing for stronger ties with South Africa on defence could be explained by the fact that the Saudis are establishing a national defence industry and see Denel as a group with technological expertise and good products, says defence expert Helmut Heitmann.

In the middle of an international moral and diplomatic quagmire following the recent killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey, the country has been itching to buy a stake at the struggling state-owned arms and equipment manufacturer.

Heitmann said the Saudi government saw Denel’s experience of “operating in a smallish country – in defence terms – and in the export market against the big players” as attractive.

“That makes Denel a good entity with which to partner and from whom to learn.

“They have already hired some key people out of Denel, as have the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and some other countries.

“From the South African side, the interest is in preventing the implosion of Denel.

“From what I hear, the Saudi proposal would do that and more. It would totally rejuvenate a couple of the divisions, enabling them to complete new projects and to expand, hiring more engineers and technicians.”

Asked about the moral implications of South Africa doing business with a country seen as “a rogue state” after the death of Khashoggi, Heitman said: “There are very few rogue states with international arms embargoes against them.

“As far as I know, South Africa is not exporting to any of them...

“As to the human rights records of some states, we need to remember that there are usually two sides to a story and we often only see the one.

“As an illustration of the problem, I have never read a news article about police in any country having shot a rioter – it is always unarmed, peaceful demonstrators or innocent bystanders. Which does not explain the petrol bombs, half bricks, lightbulbs filled with acid that are afterwards lying around. So, I take all such reports with a lot of salt.”

The analyst said he would be reluctant to sell arms to a true rogue state, “but anything short of that, the government has to take the longer-term national interest into account”.

Saudi proposal would prevent the implosion of SA arms manufacturer Denel.

Helmut Heitmann Defence expert