Question NW1942 to the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
28 September 2017 - NW1942
Marais, Mr S to ask the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
(1)Whether the Armaments Corporation of SA (Armscor) sent any delegations to the Russian Federation (a) in each of the past five financial years and (b) since 1 April 2017; if so, (i) how many trips were undertaken, (ii) what was the purpose of each trip, (iii) what are the (aa) names and (bb) relations to Armscor, her department, the defence or arms industry and the Russian Federation of each member of each delegation and (iv) what lessons were learned and/or agreements were concluded in each case; (2) whether she has found that these delegations have benefitted compliance with section 200(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
RESPONSE (1)
Armscor undertakes international exhibitions and international visits for the purpose of promoting the corporation’s capabilities as well as those of the South Africa Defence Industry according to the Armscor Act of 2003. The international visits to Russia were the following:
MAKS 2013 International Aviation & Space Salon on Aug – Sept 2013 with the purpose of industrial technical co-operation in terms of fulfilling BRICS objectives. Armscor shared a stand with DENEL where both State-Owned Companies exhibited their capabilities.
The following people attended MAKS 2013:
- Mr S Mkwanazi (Acquisition), Ms L Mzili (Marketing & Business Development), Mr B de Beer (Acquisition), Mr S George (AB Logistics), Mr N Vlok (Marketing – Events Projects), Mr L Mosiako (Board Member), Mr M Motau (Chairman), Mr S Msibi (Board Member), Mr T Raman (Research and Development), Adv B Senne (Company Secretary) and Mr G van Staden (Acquisition).
- The Department of Defence was represented by Secretary of Defence, Dr Sam Makhudu Gulube who was representing the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans.
2015 Mr Kevin Wakeford visited Russia during the month of October 2015
Armscor visited Russia factory for opportunities of collaboration during 10 – 17 October 2015 as well as attend the Russia- South Africa Defcom.
2017 Armscor delegation visited Russia during the month of June 2017
A formal invite from Rostec was extended to Mr J Mudimu, Chairman, to visit Moscow to hold negotiations on potential topics of cooperation.
Armscor Visit to the Russian Federation (Moscow) [5 – 9 June 2017]
As part of the planned activities, Armscor and its delegation, led by Mr R Vokwana (Board Member) visited the factory of Russian Helicopters and Kalashnikov Group for opportunities of collaboration.
Meetings were held with Rostec and Rosoboronexport over the period.
The following people were part of the delegation:
- Mr K Wakeford (CEO), Mr R Vokwana (Board Member), Mr G van Staden (Acquisition: Decommissioning Capabilities), Mr A Maeteletsa (Acquisition: Weapons Specialist), Mr K Ntshosho (Acquisition: Aeronautics Specialist), Ms K Neonakis (Strategy: Board Support), and Mr A King (Marketing – Projects).
- The Department of Defence was represented by Major Gen MI Buthelezi (Russian trained Helicopter Pilot)
RSA – RF Defence Industry Seminar (Moscow) [13 -14 June 2017]
The Russian Federal Service hosted the Military-Technical Cooperation in Moscow on 13-14 June 2017. This Seminar will follow the same format as in 2016 on 13 June 2017 and site visits to Russian Defence Industries in the greater Moscow Defence Industrial Complex on 14 June 2017.
The following people were part of the delegation:
Prof N Mkaza (Research and Development), Mr JS Mkwanazi (Acquisition), Ms R Ramgolam (Sustainability)
The 10th RSA – RF Joint Intergovernmental Commission for Military-Technical Cooperation (JICMTC) Meeting (St Pietersburg) [15 – 16 June 2017]
The Russian MOD hosted the JICMTC on 15-16 June 2017 in St Petersburg.
The following people were part of the delegation:
Prof N Mkaza (Research and Development) and Mr JS Mkwanazi (Acquisition
General visit to Russia (Moscow) [5 – 8 June 2017]
The following Armscor Representatives also visited Russia:
- Mr J Grobler (CFO) to attend to an outstanding contractual payment in relation to a classified project and
- Mr Mabaso (IT) to meet Russian Cyber Security companies and experts.
RESPONSE (2)
According to the Constitution of the RSA, section 200(2), the primary object of the defence force is to defend and protect the Republic, its territorial integrity and its people in accordance with the Constitution and the principles of international law regulating the use of force.
Armscor has benefited compliance with section 200(2), as the Russian Federation formally confirmed that it is more efficient to upgrade the existing Center in SA on the basis of Denel Aeronautics to the level of Maintenance, Repairs and Overall (MRO) and modernization of military Mi-24/35 helicopters. This will result in the transfer of skills and job creation.