Johannesburg - The Democratic Alliance (DA) has vowed to fight President Cyril Ramaphosa’s bid to keep the report into alleged weapons smuggling to Russia secret.
This comes after media reports suggested that Ramaphosa intends to classify the report of the inquiry into whether arms were loaded onto the Russian Lady R in Simon’s Town in December 2022.
Last month, the President appointed a three-person panel to investigate the allegations that South Africa provided arms to Russia when the Lady R ship docked in Simon’s Town in late 2022.
The Presidency also indicated that the investigation’s terms of reference would not be made public.
In a statement on Sunday, DA leader John Steenhuisen said hiding the truth from the public would result in investors losing confidence in the country and its leadership.
‘’Hiding the truth about the ANC government’s alleged involvement in smuggling arms to Russia will lead to further economic suffering. Investors will shun South Africa, the Rand will fall further as inflation spirals, and 100 000 jobs could be lost if we are kicked out of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA),’’ Steenhuisen said.
He said the DA had submitted an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to obtain a copy of the panel’s terms of reference and would be seeking legal advice to challenge Ramaphosa’s plan to hide the report once it is complete.
‘’Hiding this report from public view will rob the people of South Africa - and of the world - of the opportunity to see the full facts of this matter.
‘’Refusing to disclose the complete picture of how the ANC-led government allegedly smuggled weapons to arm Russia’s war in Ukraine and various parts of Africa will also undermine the very purpose of the investigation,’’ he said.
Steenhuisen accused Ramaphosa of trying to cover up the ANC's involvement in the arms trade with Russia.
‘’However, hiding the findings of the report will only further damage South Africa’s international standing, as it will create legitimate fears of a cover-up. The fact that Ramaphosa has suddenly announced his intention to hide the report from the public suggests that he has already become aware of incriminating information that he wants to hide from public view to protect his ANC government,’’ he said.
The Star