Arms Procurement Commission Report

"Three months and three weeks after receiving the final report of the Seriti commission into the ever-controversial arms deal, President Jacob Zuma released it in full on Thursday 21 April 2016. According to the Mail & Guardian: '

The report runs to 767 pages over three volumes, with the findings interspersed with an analysis of evidence.

In those dispersed findings the commission held that:

• There were various officials involved in the Strategic Defence Procurement Packages (SDPP) process;
• There was no evidence of outside influence, bribery, or corruption in the procurement;
• None of the critics of the deal presented believable evidence of wrongdoing in the deal;
• There is no reason to cancel any of the arms deal contracts; and
• There should be no further investigation of the allegations.

According to the Daily Maverick: 'There is little wonder President Zuma expressed his “sincere gratitude and appreciation” to the Chairman of the Arms Procurement Commission, Judge Willie Seriti, for his findings released on Thursday that “not a single iota of evidence was placed before it” showing that bribes had been paid to consultants, public officials or members of Cabinet in the 1999 R90-billion Arms Deal. Zuma, after all, has been deeply implicated in the deal. Opposition party members were unanimous in their condemnation of the findings, calling it a “whitewash” and “an insult to the intelligence of South Africans”.'