LETTER: Denel an albatross around taxpayers’ neck
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Terry Crawford-Browne is correct in saying that Denel is unfixable and should be liquidated. (“Denel is unfixable and Business Day should know it”, August 18).
The postapartheid government was unrealistically optimistic in believing Denel would become a profitable arms exporter. For most of its existence this state-owned enterprise has been an albatross around the neck of the SA taxpayer. This has meant we have either paid in full or subsidised outrageously high salaries for its employees.
No matter who is appointed CEO of Denel, it is glaringly obvious the entity is beyond rescue. The sooner the government acts on this reality the better for this country, as well as for citizens of other countries where Denel’s weaponry has been used to kill and maim civilians.
By shutting down Denel, the government would pay tribute to Oliver Tambo, who said the apartheid-era arms industry was “a Frankenstein monster that cannot be reformed and must be destroyed”. So even at this late hour it is prudent and in the national interests to rid ourselves of an enormous liability. Future generations of South Africans will remember such a wise act with gratitude.
Gunvant Govindjee
Ormonde
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an e-mail with your comments. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Send your letter by e-mail to letters@businesslive.co.za (mailto:letters@businesslive.co.za). Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
The postapartheid government was unrealistically optimistic in believing Denel would become a profitable arms exporter. For most of its existence this state-owned enterprise has been an albatross around the neck of the SA taxpayer. This has meant we have either paid in full or subsidised outrageously high salaries for its employees.
No matter who is appointed CEO of Denel, it is glaringly obvious the entity is beyond rescue. The sooner the government acts on this reality the better for this country, as well as for citizens of other countries where Denel’s weaponry has been used to kill and maim civilians.
By shutting down Denel, the government would pay tribute to Oliver Tambo, who said the apartheid-era arms industry was “a Frankenstein monster that cannot be reformed and must be destroyed”. So even at this late hour it is prudent and in the national interests to rid ourselves of an enormous liability. Future generations of South Africans will remember such a wise act with gratitude.
Gunvant Govindjee
Ormonde
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an e-mail with your comments. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Send your letter by e-mail to letters@businesslive.co.za (mailto:letters@businesslive.co.za). Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
