NO weapons were loaded into a Russian ship.
The panel established to investigate the matter has found no evidence that Mzansi had supplied weapons to Russia during the current Ukraine-Russia conflict.
President Cyril Ramaphosa told the nation on Sunday, 3 September, that the allegations had a damaging effect on the country's currency, economy, and standing in the world.
"To ensure that the docking of the Russian ship in Simonstown was thoroughly investigated, I appointed a three-member independent panel in May to enquire into the circumstances of the docking of this Russian vessel, known as Lady R," said Ramaphosa.
Judge Phineas Mojapelo chaired the panel. The other panel members were Advocate Leah Gcabashe SC and Enver Surty.
The president pointed out that the panel visited Simonstown naval base in the Western Cape and obtained evidence under oath from about 50 people, and more than 100 documents were submitted to the panel for examination.
"From its investigation, the panel found no evidence that any cargo of weapons was loaded for export onto the ship Lady R. A number of entities and persons that had publicly claimed to have information on this matter were invited to make submissions to the panel. Many of those invited either failed to do so or said they had no independent knowledge of the relevant facts," said Ramaphosa.
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But what it was found was that the ship docked at Simonstown to deliver equipment that had been ordered for the South African National Defence Force in 2018 by Armscor, the country's arms procurement company.
"In terms of the contract for the supply of the arms, neither Armscor nor the South African National Defence Force had any control over the means through which the supplier of the ordered equipment would transport them to South Africa," said Ramaphosa.
The president claimed that relevant permits had been obtained for importing the equipment that was delivered by the ship.
"No permit was issued for the export of arms, and no arms were exported," he said.
The executive summary of the report will be released publicly on Monday, 4 September.
Ramaphosa also reported on the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South) Summit held in Sandton, Joburg, two weeks ago.
He said: "South Africa's participation in BRICS and its support for the expansion of BRICS does not detract from the good and strategic relations we have with many other countries around the world."
The president said since democracy, Mzansi has always wanted to develop ties of friendship, cooperation and respect with all countries.
"As we have said before, our international work cannot be separated from our efforts to end poverty, to create jobs and to reduce inequality in South Africa.
"Through stronger investment and trade relations with other countries, we can grow our economy, create more opportunities for new businesses and reduce unemployment," said Ramaphosa.
