Pretoria - The Department of Defence and Military Veterans has moved to clarify media reports regarding the sale of arms by South African arms manufacturers to Libya, calling them misleading.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, a reporter posed a question to Defence and Military Veterans Minister Lindiwe Sisulu asking if South Africa had sold arms to Libya. The minister replied: "Have we sold any sniper rifles to Libya? Not that I'm aware of."
Sisulu added that the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) had provided a report of activities in this regard. "We have a committee that oversees the sale of any arms or ammunition from South Africa to any country outside of ourselves. A report is provided of our activities in this regard by the NCACC and I am not aware that Libya is on the list of those countries that we have sold sniper rifles to."
The department spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya explained in a statement that the minister did not say South Africa "has not sold arms to Libya but that she is not aware of it."
"The minister would not have been aware as the selling of arms and the management of the process is not managed by the Department of Defence but by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee which is chaired by the Minister of Justice, Jeff Radebe," he said.
The minister, however, did state that what she is aware of is that South Africa has not sold a single weapon to Libya since the start of the recent protests in that country. "But if you're speaking specifically about since the... protests occurred [in Libya], it is an emphatic no. We have not sold any sniper rifles to Libya," she said.
The statement reiterated that the NCACC is the only body that regulates the sales of arms by South African arms manufacturers and is the only organisation that can confirm the sale of any arms by South African companies.
