Wednesday, 29 January 2025.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) welcomes the report received by the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), which reflects a systemic misuse of funds and general mismanagement at the state-owned arms manufacturer DENEL and the Department of Defence.

The report from the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which was received by SCOPA on the 28^th of January 2025, has exposed a series of deeply concerning and criminal acts that have brought these crucial entities to the brink of collapse. This comes at a time when South Africa’s military forces, particularly our brave soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), are suffering the consequences of years of mismanagement and corruption.

The findings of the SIU confirm what many South Africans have suspected for years – the deliberate and systematic looting and mismanagement of our defence sector. From the misuse of resources to the outright theft of intellectual property (IP), the revelations paint a grim picture of a department in crisis. These issues, compounded by man-made dysfunction, place South Africa’s defence capabilities in jeopardy and threaten the lives of those who serve in uniform. The reckless actions of key officials, including Minister Angie Motshekga, are directly contributing to the tragic deaths of our soldiers, who are sent into perilous missions with little regard for their safety or well-being.

The SIU report reveals that Denel spent millions of rands outsourcing the development of a white paper to establish a funding model for the company. This function could have easily been handled internally, but instead, Denel chose to spend millions of taxpayers’ money unnecessarily on an external contract. There is no explanation as to why such a wasteful decision was made, and it further underscores the lack of accountability and fiscal discipline at Denel.

However, the situation grows even more alarming when the SIU uncovers a massive scandal involving the misappropriation of Denel’s intellectual property. Seven senior officials at Denel are implicated in a coordinated scheme to sell South Africa’s valuable defence technology to a foreign state-owned company. These officials, after orchestrating the theft of our IP, have conveniently secured employment with the same foreign company to which they sold our IP. This constitutes nothing less than treasonous behaviour, and as the EFF, we strongly condemn these actions. It is imperative that the South African government acts decisively to recover this stolen IP.

The SIU investigation further revealed that the Department of Defence spent over R250 million Rands over two contracts, to acquire software licenses, despite the department having an internal IT department capable of fulfilling this function. The decision to outsource this basic need was not only wasteful but also fraudulent. Suspicious payments to third parties were also revealed by the SIU which indicates a syndicate within the department to loot state resources. It is clear that this tender was another money-making scheme for those who were trusted to run this Department, which further exacerbates the crisis facing our defence sector.

As the EFF, we are also deeply concerned by the growing wealth amassed by EOH, a company that has become notorious for embezzling state funds through unnecessary and inflated contracts across various state departments. The company has repeatedly exploited the state’s carelessness in issuing corrupt and irregular contracts, thereby enabling its executives and partners to accumulate vast wealth at the expense of the South African people. This pattern of behaviour is not confined to any single department but is part of a broader scheme where EOH has been awarded numerous inflated contracts that are not only wasteful but often not in the best interest of the people. The failure of state entities to properly vet these contracts has allowed EOH to siphon off taxpayer funds, further deepening the crisis of corruption that has become endemic within South Africa’s public sector.

In light of these findings, the EFF calls on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to urgently take action on the referrals made by the SIU. These referrals represent a clear path toward holding those responsible for the corruption and mismanagement of the Department of Defence, the Department of Military Veterans, and Denel to account. The NPA must urgently investigate these matters and ensure that all individuals involved in these acts of looting, fraud, and betrayal face criminal charges.

The EFF is committed to seeing accountability in the defence sector. The time for complacency and inaction has passed. The public has had enough of the waste, theft, and neglect that have plagued these critical departments. The EFF demands immediate action to recover stolen assets, punish the perpetrators of this corruption, and ensure that South Africa’s defence sector is rebuilt with integrity, transparency, and accountability. The current situation cannot continue.

The safety and well-being of our soldiers, and the future of our nation, depend on it.

Bring them home!

ISSUED BY THE ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Leigh-Ann Mathys (National Spokesperson) 082 304 7572

Thato Lebyane (Media Enquiries) 078 304 7572