Maroela Media reports that Solidarity issued a statement on Wednesday indicating that the trade union was encouraged by the findings and recommendations of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) that exposed large-scale mismanagement and corruption at Denel during the state capture era.

“These findings have the potential to finally give impetus to Solidarity’s so-called Denel dossier that was released in April 2018. This dossier exposed the mismanagement and corruption of Denel’s management while Solidarity, at a later stage, also laid criminal charges against Denel senior management members implicated in the dossier,” Derek Mans, network coordinator for Solidarity’s aviation and defence sector, pointed out. He said that the SIU findings now needed to lead to urgent action by the SA Police Service (SAPS) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) so that the guilty parties could be brought to book. Mans went on to indicate: “It has been seven years since the release of the dossier and hopefully justice will now be served after corrupt parties have wreaked untold damage to Denel itself and to the lives of employees who had to pay the price for the fact that Denel had been looted to the brink of collapse.” He added: “Moreover, with the tragedy unfolding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in which many South African soldiers who are without the necessary equipment find themselves at the mercy of the enemy, we are seeing how huge the impact of decay can be. Mismanagement at Denel has therefore also left the country’s national security vulnerable.”

• Read the full original of the Afrikaans report in the above regard at Maroela Media
• Read too, Political parties slate defence department, Denel after SIU uncovers procurement irregularities, at Mail & Guardian

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page