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Corruption Dossier Received from Namibian Metals (Pty) Ltd NATIONAL
ASSEMBLY FOR ORAL REPLY QUESTION NO: 2 (WRITTEN QUESTION 1148) PUBLISHED
IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 23 OF 5 AUGUST 2005 Mr D H M Gibson (DA) to
ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs: (1) Whether her department has received
a 420 page dossier describing corruption, with prima facie evidence thereof, from
Namibian Metals (Pty) Ltd if so, when;
(2) whether the Government has taken
any action to follow up the issues raised in the dossier; if
not, why not;
if so, (a) what steps and (b) when;
(3) whether the Government has a (a) bilateral
investment promotion and protection agreement
with Namibia; if not, why not
and (b) what measures are available to the Government to protect the property
and investments of South African citizens in Namibia; if so, what steps will be
taken to ensure that such an agreement will be finalised?
N1522E
REPLY: (1)
No, to date there is no record that the Department of Foreign Affairs has received
a 420-page dossier from Namibian Metals (Pty) Ltd. (2) Since there is no
record of the aforementioned dossier, question 2 (a) and (b) does not apply. (3)
(a) South Africa does not have a bilateral investment promotion and protection
agreement with Namibia. National Treasury is at present the responsible department
involved in the current negotiation process with other Member States of the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) to conclude a Finance and Investment Protocol
that will, inter alia, protect the investments of citizens of Member States. (b)
As pointed out to you in my letter dated 25 June 2005, the Namibian High Court
rejected in February 2004 an application by Namibian Metals (Pty) Ltd to declare
a decision of the Namibian Government null and void. According to the records
of the Department, Namibian Metals (Pty) Ltd has not as yet used all the available
legal remedies within the Namibian legal system. In addition to this, your attention
is drawn to the following section of my aforementioned letter: Quote "Under
the circumstances, the South African Government is not in a position to assist
in the matter. The South African Government is precluded from expressing itself
on a finding by a foreign court in a sovereign state, on the basis of the principle
of sovereignty. In addition, on the basis of the principle of the separation of
powers the South African Government also consistently refrains from commenting
on judgements issued by any court, both domestically and internationally. In
addition, the South African Government cannot comment on unsubstantiated allegations
against nameless persons, whether in South Africa or in a foreign country."
Unquote
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