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The Congress of the People is satisfied by the suspension of Armscor CEO Sipho Thomo. Earlier, COPE had called for him to resign or be fired from his position.

We hope that the current dispute between the Armscor board and Mr Thomo does not become a protracted legal wrangle. The best thing for the country is for this saga to finally end, so we call on the board of Armscor to expedite the disciplinary process. Under the stewardship of Mr Thomo, Armscor has lurched from one crisis to the next. We are pleased that the board have sought to end his tenure as CEO in the wake of the recent Airbus controversy.

COPE would encourage a public debate on whether we need to manufacture or procure arms on a large scale. While the security of the state is crucial, a direct threat to our national security is the growing gap between rich and poor, and the failure of government to deliver basic services after 15 years of democracy.