Defence Minister Modise says nothing was loaded on Lady R in Simon’s Town
Defence Minister Thandi Modise said nothing was loaded onboard the Russian vessel, the Lady R, while it was in Cape Town.
She also said that South Africa’s relationship with Russia was steeped in history and predated the docking of the vessel in Simon’s Town in December, which she described as a “spectacle”.
Modise was responding to the debate about her department’s budget after tabling it in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
Defence Minister Thandi Modise made no mention of the Lady R docking in her budget speech, but opposition MPs called for more transparency.
The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Sarel Marais said that this could have serious implications for the country.
“Why not be transparent and go on record? The longer you stay silent, the more the damage to our international image.”
But Modise denied that any weapons were loaded on the vessel, saying the country’s relationship with Russia went back decades.
“The relationship between the Russian army and the South African army predates my coming into this, predates the relationship and ordering of whatever it was on that ship that was delivered and the Lady R spectacle.”
She asked MPs to rather wait for the inquiry announced by the president to investigate the matter.
-EWN
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