South African bishops’ conference denounces arms spending

May 04, 2016

Amid a government probe into possible corruption surrounding weapons procurement in the late 1990s, the justice and peace commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference denounced arms spending.

“It is important to remember that, at the time that the government was spending billions of rands on arms procurement, our people were being told by the government that the country could not afford antiretroviral drugs,” said Bishop Abel Gabuza, the commission’s chairman.

“We insist that, in the absence of discernible external military threat to our country, and in a country which is struggling to recover from high levels of unemployment and extreme poverty, it is ethically irresponsible and unnecessary to spend billions of scarce resources on weapons of war,” he added.

 

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Further information:

• The arms deal was an ethical blunder - says SACBC Justice and Peace Commission (SACBC, Word doc)
• South Africa's Zuma says arms probe clears government of corruption (Reuters)