President Cyril Ramaphosa has told the National Council of Provinces that he is confident that the independent panel — which was appointed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the docking of the Lady R vessel in Simonstown in December 2022 — made rational findings.
The President was answering oral questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Thursday.
“I have no reason to believe the findings of the panel were irrational. In fact, I believe the findings of the panel were completely rational. As one went through the report, I could find no irrationality. The panel made no finding of involvement of clandestine parties or illegal transactions,” President Ramaphosa said.
President Ramaphosa appointed the panel to investigate claims that South Africa may have exported weaponry and ammunition to Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February last year and is accused of various war crimes.
The panel found no evidence that South Africa sent weapons to Russia.
The President said that the independent panel was led by a respected retired Judge and two prominent and respected legal minds.
“The extent of the work undertaken and the information the panel sought, obtained and analysed gives me full confidence in the contents of their report.
“The panel made no finding of involvement by ‘clandestine parties’ or illegal transactions, and no evidence has been presented to contradict the panel’s findings.
“The contents of the shipment carried on the Lady R are kept secret so as not to compromise the work or the safety of our security forces. I have no intention of compromising this under any circumstances,” the President said.
The President highlighted that Section 23 of the National Conventional Arms Control Act makes it clear that information on the quantity of items is shared with Parliament on a confidential basis.
“Nothing in the Act requires disclosure on the intended use of the controlled items. In fact, the Act expressly states that: ‘Information concerning the technical specifications of controlled items may be omitted from a report contemplated in this section in order to protect military and commercial secrets’, ” the President said.
He said the work of the National Conventional Arms Control is critical in ensuring that the country abides by its international obligations in relation to the transfer and trade in controlled items, and that “it continues to do this critical work, as provided for in its founding legislation and the relevant United Nations conventions”.
President Ramaphosa said the protection of information related to its work is clearly provided for in the Act and is just as important to its mandate and to national security.
President Ramaphosa said government will continue to respect the requirements of the law and its responsibility to safeguard the security of the nation.
