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The Democratic Alliance welcomes the announcement by President Zuma today that he will appoint a full commission of enquiry into the arms deal. The DA has consistently called for this exact course of action for nearly ten years.

The timing of the announcement is interesting. New information concerning alleged corruption in the arms deal is now emerging in Sweden and Germany. The Constitutional Court is set to rule on this matter in early November, and this raises the question of whether the President is pre-empting a possible court finding requiring him to appoint a commission of enquiry.

The efficacy and legitimacy of the Commission will depend on its terms of reference and composition. The President must give the commission a full scope to investigate any and all aspects of the arms deal and have the powers to subpoena witnesses and documentation. He must appoint commissioners whose integrity and independence is beyond question, and who will conduct the enquiry with particular attention to detail.

This is the President’s opportunity to lead. After all these years, the South African public deserve to finally know the whole truth behind the arms deal. The cancer of corruption is destroying the body politic of South Africa with the arms deal at its core. Now is the time to excise it.