National Conventional Arms Control Committee Amendment Bill
Speech by Mr Velaphi Ndlovu MP
|
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY : 23rd September 2008 Madame Speaker,
The global arms trade and industries are shrouded in secrecy, thereby creating the potential for abuse and corruption. For this reason, transparency in weapons deals is vital.
South Africa built up a formidable arms manufacturing industry during apartheid, which the democratic government decided to retain for the most part after 1994. Our country is therefore an exporter of weapons to support the local defence industry, and to retain the skills that have been built up over decades.
As an arms exporter, South Africa has to comply with international agreements as well as various United Nations principles such as taking human rights into account when considering which countries to sell arms to.
The National Conventional Arms Control Committee was established by law after the Cameron Commission found that South Africa's arms exports had to comply with an international human rights regime.
The NCACC Act, among others, required the Committee to report the details of our arms exports to Parliament so that the legislature could maintain oversight over the executive to ensure that it complied with the law.
However, herein lay the major weakness of the legislation, as the reporting requirement was not strictly adhered to and Parliament was for long periods not supplied with the necessary quarterly and annual arms export information.
No doubt, some concerns about the confidentiality of arms agreements played a role in this deficiency, but one thing is clear: No one is or should be above the law.
The Bill before the House attempts to rectify certain deficiencies in the principal Act, which the IFP supports.
Our major concern in the Bill dealt with the reporting requirement to Parliament. For this reason, the IFP was steadfastly against diluting Parliament's role in any way. We found unanimous support for this in the Portfolio Committee and its chairperson.
The IFP will therefore support the Bill as it reinforces the strict reporting requirements for the NCACC to Parliament. It is now up to parliamentarians to ensure that the law is implemented and enforced, thereby holding the executive to account.
Thank you.
Contact: |
|