The South African Council of Churches is deeply disturbed by the government's decision to take up the first of two optional purchases associated with the arms deal signed in December 1999. We are particularly concerned by the spending priorities implicit in the decision and the lack of transparency surrounding it.

Although most SACC members accept the necessity of a defence force, the SACC has consistently questioned the need for the purchase of state-of-the-art weaponry in light of the more pressing problems created by poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In 1996, an SACC delegation met with government to raise concerns about the proposed purchase of four corvettes. In the intervening years, the Council objected repeatedly to the emerging strategic defence procurement package. More recently, the August 2001 SACC National Conference called on government to decline the options associated with the deal -- purchases likely to comprise as much as R16 billion of a package now expected to cost close to R53 billion in total. This call was reiterated in a memo presented to the Minister of Defence in October 2001.

This week, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin sought to justify the decision to purchase 12 more British Aerospace Hawk lead-in fighter trainers on the grounds that diminishing debt service obligations had made additional weapons affordable. In recent months, government has said that it cannot afford to make vital medications to combat HIV/AIDS available through the public health system. The Minister of Finance has declared a Basic Income Grant unaffordable, even before the Cabinet has had a chance to consider fully the options for the roll out of comprehensive social security contained in the report of the Taylor Committee of Inquiry. And yet, over the past five years, the government has found ways to "afford" tax cuts totaling R50 billion a year. Now Ministers Lekota and Erwin say South Africa can afford to spend more than R2 billion on additional arms. We are concerned that such decisions may tarnish the government's otherwise laudable record of commitment to poverty alleviation and equitable social delivery.

We are also concerned about the transparency of the decision to take up the first of the two optional arms purchases. For more than a year, the SACC has been asking the Ministry of Defence for information about the timing of the options decisions, the process by which they would be made and the criteria to be applied. Our inquiries have been acknowledged, but have gone unanswered. The decision was not debated in any public forum.

In two years, the government will again have to decide whether to buy more weapons -- this time 19 Saab Gripen fighter jets with a price tag likely to exceed R10 billion. We urge the Minister to indicate clearly when and how the decision on the final tranche will be made and what opportunities the public will have to make input into that process.

We share with the government a commitment to the vision of genuine national security articulated in section 198 of the Constitution. Consequently, we believe that South Africa's national security depends first and foremost on our ability to fight poverty and inequality, rather than foreign aggressors.

Mr. Eddie MAKUE
Acting General Secretary

10 April 2002