Independent defence analyst , Helmoed-Romer Heitman says it is unlikely that the commission will uncover much. Heitman says those implicated in corruption would have taken measures by now to get rid of the evidence.
"It's been so long that if anybody is half way clever they would have buried the evidence so deep that nobody is ever gonna dig it out. I think in that sense the commission is really on a sticky wicket. They'll probably find nothing and that will either mean there was nothing or that it's well hidden but whatever the case may be people will then accuse it of being just another cover-up," says Heitman.
The Commission of Inquiry into the multi-billion rand arms deal begins with public hearings in Pretoria on Monday. The Arms Procurement Commission was set up by President Jacob Zuma in 2011. This followed calls from opposition parties to probe allegations of fraud and corruption in the weapons purchases of the 1990s.
Former President Thabo Mbeki, Planning Minister Trevor Manuel and former Ministers Mosiuoa Lekota, Ronnie Kasrils and Alec Erwin are scheduled to appear. The commission's been hit by the resignation of one of its members, Judge Francis Legodi, and other officials. Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille is regarded as the initial whistleblower on the deal:
SABC NEWS
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