MP Haniff Hoosen, the Secretary-General of the Independent Democrats, has called on the ANC and COPE ‘to tell South Africa whether they support the ID’s call for a judicial commission of inquiry into Arms Deal corruption.’

The call comes after a letter from Nobel peace prize winners Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and former President FW de Klerk was delivered to President Kgalema Motlanthe’s Cape Town office, requesting that he appoint a commission of inquiry into the Arms Deal by December 10.

‘We in the Independent Democrats are pleased that there is growing support for our call for a commission of inquiry into Arms Deal corruption. However, we are becoming increasingly concerned about the silence at ANC and COPE headquarters,’ Mr Hoosen says.

‘The silence from the ANC and COPE is deafening. While the ANC appears to be embarking on yet another term of cover-up and denial politics, COPE has still not answered the ID’s questions over its position on the Deal.

‘We have not forgotten COPE leader Mosioua Lekota’s attack on ID Leader Patricia de Lille when she said in Parliament that the ANC received a half a million rand kickback from an Arms Deal company,’ says Hoosen.

‘When a weekly newspaper confirmed Ms De Lille’s allegation, Lekota remained silent.

‘For as long as they continue to duck and dive over the issue of Arms Deal corruption, ANC number 1 and ANC number 2’s stance on corruption in general will be clear for our nation to see,’ Hoosen says.

‘We in the Independent Democrats call on President Kgalema Motlanthe to show true leadership by rising above the ANC’s cover-up campaign and supporting accountability and transparency in governance,’ says Hoosen.

‘President Motlanthe must put our country’s interests before those of the ANC and move away from the caginess that characterized former President Thabo Mbeki’s response to the Arms Deal.’

For media enquiries, please call Steven Otter, ID National Media Officer, on 084 233 3811