President Thabo Mbeki has announced the names of the experts who will travel to Iraq to share South Africa’s experiences on the destruction of weapons of mass destruction.

The names were released during President Mbeki’s response to questions in Parliament yesterday posed by Members of Parliament (MPs) on Monday in reaction to his State of the Nation address, delivered last week.

They include Mr Deon Smit, Colonel Ben Steyn, Dr Phillip Coleman, Mr Daan van Beek, Mr Super Moloi, Mr Peter Goosen and Mr Tom Markram.

President Mbeki said between them the experts would be able to address all matters relating to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction, missile systems, non-proliferation and disarmament, affecting all weapons of mass destruction.

‘They have worked with the UN Conference on Disarmament and the international bodies responsible for the enforcement of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Chemical and Biological Weapons Conventions.

‘Hopefully, what they will do, freely to share their invaluable knowledge and experience, to facilitate the work both of the UN weapons inspectors and the Government of Iraq, will bring us back from the brink of war, while helping to ensure that Iraq is truly free of weapons of mass destruction,’ he said.

Last week, President Mbeki confirmed that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had accepted South Africa’s offer to send an envoy to the oil rich country to share with their government, scientists, engineers, technicians and people of Iraq its experience relevant to the mission of the UN and Iraq to eradicate weapons of mass destruction, under international supervision.

‘We trust that this intervention will help to ensure the necessary proper cooperation between the United Nations inspectors and Iraq, so that the issue of weapons of mass destruction is addressed satisfactorily, without resorting to war,' President Mbeki said.

South Africa voluntarily destroyed its weapons of mass destruction in 1993 prior to the first democratic elections that heralded a historic transition from an apartheid form of government to a democratic one -BuaNews.