National Conventional Arms Control Committee on its 2015/16 Annual Report & 1st and 2nd quarterly 2016/17 reports, with Ministers of Defence, Presidency & Trade and Industry

Meeting report

Briefing on National Conventional Arms Control Committee on its 2015/16 Annual Report

Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, Minister of Defence, introduced her delegation, which included Mr Jeff Radebe, Minister in the Presidency, and Dr Rob Davies, Minister of Trade and Industry. She noted that Mr Radebe and Ms Naledi Pandor, Minister of Science and Technology, were Chairperson and Co-chairperson of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), respectively. 

The Chairperson stated that Members received the documentation the day before presentation and sought clarity on the reason for delay in submitting the presentation documents timeously. The standard practice in Parliament was that Committees were sent presentations between four and seven days in advance to enable Members to engage with materials, and to engage with the department or entity briefing the Committee. 

Minister Mapisa-Nqakula apologised for any inconvenience that might have been caused by a late submission of the presentation to the Committee. She said the 2015 annual reports would be done in full whereas the 2016 quarterly reports were included in the presentation individually. The first and second quarters of the 2016 reports had been tabled in Parliament. The NCACC’s approach was therefore to brief the Committee on the reports tabled in Parliament. The content of the presentation included the highlights of 2015 (the year which was under review), International Context of Arms Control, Domestic Context of Arms Control and statistics for consideration for the 2015 and 2016 reports.  

On the 2015 highlights, Minister Mapisa-Nqakula noted that South Africa, having ratified the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in 2014, came under some obligations by the ATT, and had therefore reported as follows: South Africa submitted its Initial Baseline Assessment Survey (BAS) Report in December 2015, meeting deadline as set and filed its first Annual Report under the ATT in April 2016, meeting the deadline as set. During the First States Party Conference of the ATT in August 2015 at Cancun, Mexico, states agreed on a framework to establish the Office of the Secretariat and on the funding formula for the ATT; appointed the Interim Head of Secretariat, Mr DumisaniDladla. Mr Dladla was confirmed as Head in August 2016 and was based in Geneva, Switzerland for his duration of the term of his duty. 

South African arms control was centred on four legislations which she viewed as pillars of arms control. Those were the NCACC Act, Non-proliferation Act and Fire Arms Control Act and Explosives Act.  Tiers of decision making were the NCACC (Cabinet Committee) and the Scrutiny Committee (review departments). The Scrutiny Committee was chaired by the Secretary for Defence as Director-General of the Department of Defence and was composed by members who were senior government officials. The Scrutiny Committee scrutinised and recommended decisions to the NCACC. 

Minister Mapisa-Nqakula noted duties of the Secretariat and Inspectorate as well as the principles of safeguards on transfers (see attachment).

Minister Mapisa-Nqakula also noted the 2015/16 controlled items statistics in the context of exports, imports and conveyance authorised (see attachment). 

1st and 2nd quarterly 2016/17 reports

Minister Mapisa-Nqakula further noted controlled items statistics in the context of exports, imports and conveyance authorised for the first and second quarter in 2016/17. With regards to the first quarterly report, she noted that the number of countries contracted were 35, the number of permits authorised were 58 with a value of authorised permits worth R30.7 billion. The number of permits authorised in terms of exports were 709. The number of countries authorised were 54 and the value of permits was R885.8 million. The number of permits authorised in terms of imports was 602. The number of countries imported from was 45 and the value of authorised importing permits was R473.6 million.

With regards to the second quarterly report, Minister Mapisa-Nqakula gave statistics in terms of contacting as follows: 58 permits were authorised. Seven applications were denied. 35 countries were contracted. The value of authorised permits was R30.7 billion. In the context of exports, 709 export permits were authorised whereas 54 countries were exported to. The value of export permits authorised was R885.8 million. In the context of imports, 602 exports permits were authorised whereas 45 countries were imported from. The value of import permits authorised was R473.6 million. There was no conveyance permits issued during the first and second quarter.

Minister Mapisa-Nqakula concluded by noting that the NCACC framework was grounded in domestic law, in harmony with treaties and conventions. The Cabinet Committee applied itself effectively within the confines of prescribed laws. It supported compliance with the international commitments on arms control and the defence industry in South Africa was growing as evidenced by figures presented. 

Discussion

Mr S Marais (DA) sought clarity on why the third quarter was not submitted, and said ilt was not acceptable to submit 2015 annual reports at the end of the year of 2016. He sought clarity on whether there was any legal obligation to submit reports on time that were violated. He raised his concern over an absence of briefing the Committee over the NCACC’s expenditure, noting that the NCACC could not operate without money. Why was nothing reported on the NCACC’s expenditure? On obligations to serve the NCACC’s customers, he sought an assurance from Mr Radebe on whether customers had met the required criteria in order to procure arms. He also sought clarity on export of arms to Mali, Iraqi, and Oman and on why figures appeared under the first and second quarter reports were the same. 

Mr S Esau (DA) sought clarity why the NCACC was regularly contravening laws relating to the submission of annual reports. Furthermore, he aasked about safeguards and transfers and in this context, which countries the NCACC was dealing with. He expressed his concerns about countries characterised by human rights abuse as well as regional instability and sought clarity on whether there was reports on political development in those regions or countries and on the question of regulating foreign military assistance to prevent mercenaries.  

Mr D Gumede (ANC) expressed his happiness on increased exported items, stating that South Africa should supply more arms than it bought. 

Mr M Booi (ANC) remarked that the NCACC should focus on investment.  

Minister Radebe responded that the presentation was based on the reports that were submitted to National Assembly (NA) and National Council of Provinces (NCOP). The NCACC did not contravene any law hence reports were submitted to the NA and NCOP timeously. The records would speak for themselves. The NCACC could only brief the Committee if it was invited to do so. 

Mr Radebe noted that the NCACC ensured that all requirements for procurement of arms were met. All documents required had to be produced. The NCACC did not place countries on the blacklist; rather if there was an embargo imposed on a particular country that could be taken into consideration. Issues related to political matters would be responded to by the Department of Defence. 

Referring to Lesotho’s political turmoil, Minister Mapisa-Nqakula responded that countries that were challenged by civil unrest could not be allowed to procure weapons. Based on political conflict challenges, countries such as Lesotho, Burundi, Libya and South Sudan were denied permission to procure weapons in South Africa. 

Mr Marais agreed that the reports were submitted to the NA and NCOP and that the reports were not shared with the Committee. 

Mr Gumede acknowledged the difficulties that the Committee faced in accommodating all entities and departments. He said that the NCACC was invited to present at that time of the year because elections had implications on the Committee’s activities. 

Mr Esau was of the view that Members should arrange a meeting to decide on when reports should be submitted. Reports should be submitted timeously to facilitate Members to engage with entities and departments. If the NCACC reports could have been submitted timeously, Members would have been able to engage with the NCACC more constructively. 

Minister Radebe stated that the NCACC met every month and gave the assurance that it could appear before the Committee anytime it was invited. 

The Chairperson thanked the Ministers who were present for their time and dedication. He welcomed the steady increase in defence exports that had seen an inflow of R885 875 277 for the second quarter of 2016. These numbers pointed to the growth in the African defence industry, which would create much needed job opportunities. 

The meeting was adjourned.