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SA arms flow to Zimbabwe

MANDY ROSSOUW | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Jun 27 2008 07:16

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South Africa has been supplying Zimbabwe with weapons of war, including helicopters, revolvers and cartridges -- despite the mounting human rights atrocities in that country.

The sales, some involving state arms company Armscor, have been quietly taking place for some years. When a Chinese freighter recently carried weapons destined for the Zimbabwean military and tried to dock in Durban, there was an international outcry.

Information at the Mail & Guardian’s disposal points to a cosy relationship between the defence forces of both countries, as well as government-to-government arms transfers. This appears to conflict with President Thabo Mbeki’s mediation role between the ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition MDC, which demands neutrality.

The M&G can also reveal that private South African companies have sold arms to Zimbabwe and that these transfers must have been approved by government’s National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC).

The committee is chaired by Minister of Provincial and Local Government Sydney Mufamadi -- who also happens to be Mbeki’s envoy in the Zimbabwean negotiations.

Mbeki has been mediating between the Zimbabwean parties since 2001 in an attempt to break the cycle of stolen elections and mounting violence.

Repression by the Zimbabwean state and its agents has seen tens of thousands of Zimbabweans harassed and displaced and scores killed.

The M&G can reveal that in recent years:

Armaments to the value of
$237 401 (R3,3-million) were privately transferred from South Africa to Zimbabwe, according to 2004 and 2005 figures.
The South African defence department donated Dakota aircraft engines worth millions to Zimbabwe, while Armscor transferred spares to get Zimbabwean military choppers flying again.
Zimbabwean soldiers and flying instructors have been trained by the South African Defence Force and the South African Air Force.
Armscor was contracted to transport the weaponry destined for Zimbabwe and carried by the An Yue Jiang from the Durban port to Harare. The deal fell through when a court order stopped the ship from offloading and it sailed away.

The arms transfers to Zimbabwe are reflected in official trade records between 2004 and 2005.

CONTINUES BELOW

Although these statistics concern sales by private companies in South Africa, they would still have had to be approved by Mufamadi’s NCACC.

The trade records show that in 2004 South Africa exported about 2,6 tonnes of revolvers and/or pistols, another 2,5 tonnes of other firearms, between four and 7,5 tonnes of cartridges and what appear to be parts for military vehicles.

These armaments were transferred in the run-up to and aftermath of Zimbabwe’s 2005 parliamentary polls, which were marked by violence.

Altogether 18 entries in the trade records were specified from 2004 to 2005, most of them under the general category, “Arms, Ammunition, Parts and Accessories”. But some were specified under the category that includes bombs, grenades, torpedoes and missiles, while some transfers fell into the category of “revolvers and pistols”.

In the NCACC’s annual reports from 2003 to 2006, which are not publicly released but of which the M&G has been given a detailed description, no mention is made of any of these transfers.

The only mention of arms transfers to Zimbabwe between 2003 and 2006 is a “temporary export” called “Type A” -- a classification used for spares or repairs -- in 2005.

The data also show the sale of arms to Zimbabwe by China, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates -- but South Africa is by far the most frequent and largest supplier.

In 2005 Armscor delivered spare parts for Alouette military helicopters to Zimbabwe to a value of
$150 000 (about R1-million), an Armscor spokesperson confirmed. The Alouettes, previously grounded, were made airworthy.

According to the annual report of the South African defence department, South Africa donated eight Dakota aircraft engines worth R9,5-million to the Zimbabwean Air Force in September 2005.

The disclosure of the extent of South African arms transfers to Zimbabwe comes after the Chinese arms ship saga, when civil society stepped in to prevent the An Yue Jiang from offloading at Durban harbour.

The issue is known to have caused conflict in the Cabinet, where President Mbeki and Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota insisted that the ship should be allowed to offload. As previously reported in the M&G, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and Transport Minister Jeff Radebe disagreed and tried to halt the delivery.

Trucks from an Armscor affiliate were ready to take the weapons from Durban to Harare by road. But when the ship sailed away in contravention of the court order, the transaction was cancelled, said the Armscor spokesperson.

Mufamadi later told Parliament that the permit for the transportation of the arms had been approved and that the South African government saw nothing wrong with facilitating delivery.

This suggests a political conflict of interest for Mufamadi, who is also a key player in the Mbeki faciliation team brokering a deal between Zanu-PF and the MDC.

SANDF annual reports make it clear the South African government has become closer to the Zimbabwean military in recent years.

Several Zimbabwean soldiers and flying instructors have been trained by the SANDF since 2002. In 2006 a joint permanent commission of defence and security was formed to ensure close cooperation on defence issues between the two countries.

In May 2006 the SANDF presented a course to, among others, Zimbabwean chaplains in the combating of HIV. In the 2006 annual report the deputy minister of defence, Mluleki George, said the South African Air Force was considering using Zimbabwean flying instructors to supplement its own trainers, who were in short supply. The South African Air Force participated in the “silver celebrations” of the Zimbabwean Air force in 2005.

Cooperation between South Africa and Zimbabwe on the issue of border protection is also ongoing.

South Africa recently voted in the United Nations General Assembly for a process to set up a global Arms Trade Treaty to prevent the irresponsible transfer of arms, an idea launched in a campaign by Amnesty International and 800 other NGOs in 2003.
South Africa was recently allowed into the multilateral Wassenaar Arrangement, subscribed to by a number of countries, to contribute to regional and international security and stability by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies.

The text of the arrangement reads: “Participating states seek, through their national policies, to ensure that transfers of these items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities which undermine these goals.”

According to Nicole Fritz, director of the Southern African Litigation Centre, states which render assistance to states that use state machinery against some sections of their society are held responsible under international law. “Knowing what the situation is like in Zimbabwe means a government that gives them assistance becomes complicit.”

TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE

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Thabo Mbeki

People

Sydney Mufamadi

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Zanu-PF

Comments

This is such a cozy arrangement! We(SA) give you (Zim) arms, you give us your people to do our drudge work for a pittance. What the heck, we're all Africans under the skin, eh? How about we just make SA and Zim into one big happy family with one government, one currency, one psychosis! What a brilliant idea!
Whist we're at it , let's make all anti-psychotic drugs illegal. No one will notice.

on June 27, 2008, 10:50 am

I think it is unfair to come to think that since there are problems in Zim whatever has happened must now be condemned. What we need to understand is the fact that there are legal contracts between SA and Zim and as such the madness of Mugabe should not now rubbish whatever has been done before, hence I find your article distateful and attention seeking

Beuzana Sandile on June 27, 2008, 11:50 am

This brings into further disrepute the very highly questionable mediation role of Mbeki in the Zimbabwe crisis. It appears all parties are desperately trying to cover their own a**es at what ever cost. I hope these dealings will be fully exposed and that regional leaders will finally carry out their duties! The people of Zimbabwe cannot stand up to armed forces without regional help. How long do the people of Zimbabwe need to be trampled on while the corrupt cesspool of fat cat african politicians debate the issue with their eyes wide shut!?

Zim Zulu on June 27, 2008, 2:02 pm

@Beuzana

Mugabe was showing signs of madness in 2004 and 2005 when (I gather from this article) the arms deals took place, and those responsible would have arranged these contracts with the full knowledge of the consequences of their actions: the Zim government using these weapons of war on their own people. Zim has been descending into chaos for at least the last 5 years.

This article does not 'rubbish' the events of the past, it brings to light the depth of the coziness between the Zim and SA governments. South Africa's continued complacency and refusal to accept the atrocities committed by its neighbour is embarrassing and unacceptable.

Cat Murray on June 27, 2008, 3:31 pm

AT LAST! Some light to the obvious is being shed. It is a pity that this kind of information was not revealed earlier. So much for transparency in government. The way things are going on it seems that SA & Zim will become one country in the not too distant future. What are these politicians thinking? The lies and deceits they have concocted up over the last couple of years seem to be catching up on them suddenly. Suddenly they are ALL being exposed for their ineptitude and lack of foresight.

Mbeki's lack to respond or as the media calls it "his silent politics" makes so much more sense now. What were you hiding Thabo?

Oh my Africa, who has corrupted you so? Zimbabwe "The Breadbasket of Africa" has now become an empty container with hunger her mother and destruction has now become her father. SA the "Image of Freedom" has enslaved its own and is sharing a bed with the lord of destruction. Oh how you have been defiled!

Casper Badenhorst on June 28, 2008, 8:23 am

Is there no level to which the ANC will not sink?
When will the blatant corruption come to an end?
When will the South African people, stop being lied to?

We need a change of government.

Ahed Johb on June 28, 2008, 1:09 pm

Egocentricism among the leaders is the problem.These kinds of Secret war pacts solidify the bond with our Zimbabwean government thereby jeopardising our future.
It seems like South Africa's legacy is going to fall only because of one person
WHY WHY WHY.IT"S TIME FOR CHANGE

farai kuvirimirwa on June 28, 2008, 3:03 pm

African despots: Thabo Mbeki, Robert Mugabe etc. What could we expect. South Africans face the spectre of despotism and all the evils associated with it as we see in Zimbabwe. God save Africa....

Arnold Mashava on June 29, 2008, 1:40 pm

Has there been any update? Has the NCACC met to debate and decide?

barbara murray on July 8, 2008, 11:30 am

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