South Africa’s National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) has tabled its latest quarterly report to parliament.
The report, which covers the period of October 1 to December 31, 2021, shows that the committee had approved the sale of arms and military equipment to the tune of almost R 1.5 Billion.
The report also shows that the NCACC has once again approved the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – two countries that are involved in the conflict in Yemen.
It is government policy to avoid the sale of arms to countries involved in armed conflict. This has not stopped the NCACC, however, from authorising the sale of rockets to Saudi Arabia worth R 15 million.
According to the report, NCACC has allowed the sale of armoured personnel carriers to the UAE worth R 19 million.
Earlier this year, the National Defence Industry Council (NDIC) told parliament that the NCACC had done away with a requirement that it should be allowed to inspect how these arms are used as the two countries had objected to this. That, the NDIC said, would unblock a further sale of R500 million worth of arms to the Middle East.
When approached for comment, NCACC secretary Ezra Jele said he was out of the country and will only be able to respond next week.
