Transformation or Stagnation? The South African Defence Industry in the Early 21st Century

The Complexities of Development: The South African National Industrial Participation Programme in Perspective

“…Given that a wide range of activities are included in the rubric of technology transfer in both the DIP and the NIP programme, and the general reluctance of obligors to transfer higher-end propriety and strategic knowhow (e.g. Dunne and Haines 2006), one would be surprised if the actual technology transfer was particularly pervasive or profound.…”

“…In other words the infrastructural investment, the social capital stock and networks were not sufficiently appreciated in the finalization of the decisions regarding the equipment. With more sophisticated and essentially foreign -as opposed to partly home-grown -equipment, the maintenance work and, thus, the revenue for local defence companies and the associated supply chains were significantly reduced (Dunne and Haines 2006;Haines 2009a).…”

“…In tandem with these developments, the decline in defence spending in the wake of the Cold War and the changing nature of defence industrial production facilitated more complex sets of practices and interventions. This, in turn, linked procurement of defence and also non-defence equipment and services more directly with industrial cooperation, offsets and countertrade options (Dunne and Haines 2006).…”

“…While this opened up certain markets, it also diminished the relative autonomy of local industry and expertise, and compromised local export initiatives. A key outcome was the effective shift of the locus of procurement from South Africa to an international set of suppliers (Dunne and Haines 2006;Haines 2009a).…”

“…The cumulative impact of offsets is often problematic in terms of job creation, the strengthening of backward and forward linkages, and technology enhancement (Matthews and Williams 2000, pp. 26-31;Brauer and Dunne 2004;Dunne and Haines 2006). It has been argued that they do not constitute a "third way" for the economic development of developing countries (Matthews and Williams 2000;Batchelor and Dunne 2000).…”