Johannesburg - Wagons, not weapons. It was a spell-checker mistake that could have launched a war, when a minister announced that Transnet was building “fuel weapons”.
In what seemed at first glance to be a routine reply to a parliamentary question, Minister of Public Enterprises Malusi Gigaba spoke about Transnet’s locomotive fleet procurement programme. The reply was released by Parliament on Thursday, the ministry’s official written version of his oral reply last month in the National Council of Provinces, following a question by ANC MP Sediane Montsitsi.
The minister spoke about Transnet playing a crucial role “to leapfrog our industrialisation program (sic) to the next level”.
But then the minister’s written reply took a more interesting turn.
“As we speak, a number of weapons are already being manufactured and assembled at Transnet Engineering, including fuel weapons, highly technical and complex fuel weapons, as well as the automotive weapon the President is going to unveil next week in the Nelson Mandela Metro, in Port Elizabeth,” said Gigaba.
The Star hurriedly asked Transnet and the ministry if Transnet was building weapons.
“Certainly not!” said Transnet’s spokeswoman, Viwe Tlaleane. “We don’t have the mandate.”
She said the president had actually unveiled fuel wagons and automotive wagons - for trains.
Gigaba’s spokesman, Mayihlome Tshwete, flatly denied any weapons building, and said there was an error in the reply.
“It should be wagons not weapons,” he said firmly. “The minister has no intentions for world domination.”
The Star