Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma will release the report
of the Donen Commission of Inquiry into the involvement of South Africans in
the Iraq oil-for-food programme, his office said on Tuesday.
Spokesperson Mac Maharaj said the report would be released in
recognition of the public interest in the subject matter.
"The presidency is aware of the potential misuse of the
contents of the report," he said.
"We wish to caution that the comments made... about
individuals must not be elevated to findings of fact as these were interim and
untried comments."
In 2006, former President Thabo Mbeki commissioned an
investigation into illegal transactions by South African individuals and
companies in the United Nations oil-for food programme.
The programme was established in 1995 to allow Iraq to sell
oil in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian aid without building
up funds for military purposes.
It was tainted by corruption and abuse, with the Iraqi
government demanding illicit payments from its customers.
Mbeki's commission of inquiry was headed by advocate Michael
Donen, with assistance from advocate Andrew Chauke and Senior Superintendent
Lucy Moleka.
Their report apparently implicated some top leaders in the
African National Congress, including Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and
Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale, and was not released to the public.
Late on Tuesday, Sexwale released a statement saying he was
not in a position to comment on the report until it had been released.
Maharaj said on Tuesday that the report "clearly
established that the conduct of the individuals from South Africa affected by
this report did not constitute any offence under South African law".
"Those who were caught up in the subject matter of the
inquiry did not have an opportunity to deal with their alleged involvement
fully."
On Tuesday, the Democratic Alliance and the Freedom Front
Plus welcomed the release of the report, but questioned the motive behind its
sudden release after failed attempts by Independent Newspapers to access it
under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia).
"The timing of the presidency's announcement is...
interesting, given that the report is said to implicate two figures who appear
to be opposed to Zuma's continued leadership of the ANC," DA parliamentary
leader Atholl Trollip said.
"... It is crucial that information is released into
the public domain for the right reasons, and not as a means to fight internal
political battles."
The FF Plus wondered whether the Donen report had become
part of an internal struggle in the run-up to the ANC's elective conference
next year in December.
"The fact that Zuma is at this specific time prepared
to release the Donen report, nearly 30 months after he took up his office...
begs the question whether... he would possibly gain politically from it,"
parliamentary spokesperson on minerals Anton Alberts said.
He said the FF Plus wrote a letter to Motlanthe in October
2008 requesting him to release the report. The request was denied.
"It is high time that South Africa finds out what
advantage the ANC had gained from this scandal."
Zuma will make the report available by December 7.