As Auditor-General Shauket Fakie defended the final report of the arms deal investigation before Parliament on Wednesday, a new allegation emerged of irregularities in the awarding of sub-contracts.
Briefing the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa), the AG maintained that media claims of omissions and "doctoring" in the final report were unfounded, and impugned the dignity of his office.
He, again, called on the watchdog committee to protect the integrity of his office.
Fakie said the draft and final reports on the probe into the multi-billion rand deal differed only in style and format, and that the executive did not, in any way, influence the content of the report.
"I want to state categorically that due process was followed and that no changes were made to the report based on pressure from the president or the executive," he said.
The deal was investigated by the AG, the Public Protector and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, who found no evidence of unlawful conduct by the state.
Scopa chairman Francois Beukman said the committee would evaluate the AG's responses, as well as a legal opinion received regarding the media allegations, before presenting a resolution to the House.
The legal opinion, commissioned by Beukman, found that claims that the final report was doctored were not unsubstantiated.
Source: Polity.org
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