In a move to stop the facilitation of third party weapons transfers, the South African government announced on Saturday that it would block the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia and UAE following the Middle Eastern state’s decision to refuse inspections by South African officials.
The suspension of the deal came after a contract breach which states that South African officials must inspect facilities to verify compliance with South Africa’s defence export regulations.
Additionally, officials from South African aerospace and military companies, Denel and Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM), said because of the quarrel its exports to the Middle East had not been approved since March.
According to Simphiwe Hamilton, head of the Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Industries Association of South Africa (AMD), the suspension of arms exports to the Middle East will cost the country in excess of R20bn.
“We’ve got one clause that’s disabling us from exporting R25 billion ($1.7 billion) worth of value today, right now,” said Hamilton in a Reuters report on Saturday.
On top of the sanctions to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which account for at least a third of South Africa’s arms exports, South Africa have also blocked weapons exports to Oman and Algeria, following similar concerns. – Bjorn Vorster
