3.5 Responses In his response, Mr Sadik indicated to the Committee that he had sincerely apologised to the Chairperson for all the instances he was unable to honour invitations of the Committee. He responded as follows to questions: . It was the first time that Denel achieved positive financial results. For the entity to be sustainable, there was a need for recapitalisation. Furthermore, there was a need for certainty on the future role of Denel in relation to the SANDF. . There had been efforts to market the DSA and solicit deals from international markets. However, discussions were ongoing. . There was an opportunity and market for South Africa to play a key role in the aerospace industry. . Denel had to pay DSA as it was bound by a contract, and it had never said that the Saab exit would not have financial consequences. . Denel did not sell products to countries in conflict, and complied with all local and international conventions. It was bound by contracts not to disclose to the Committee the countries with which it did business and what it exported. Denel did business with more than 30 countries in Africa. . Denel had no subsidiary that was listed on the JSE and there were no patent listed under Denel. . Denel requested R5.2 billion for recapitalisation and only received R3.5 billion. The entity was inundated with the repayment of the interest of the debt. . The mandate of Denel was to ensure that the SANDF delivered on it constitutional mandate by producing the apparatus needed for that purpose. . The reason Saab exited the contract with DSA was because the contract allowed them to do so. The net asset value of Denel was R654 million. . India was an important partner, and the entity hoped the litigation would be resolved in court. . Assurance was given that the Rooivalk and the Hoefyster were world class and competitive and put South Africa on the map. Some components of the Rooivalk were imported and the countries that supplied the components were uncomfortable with it competing in their local markets. . The morale of staff was improving and the management had regular meetings with trade unions who were consulted thoroughly on issues affecting workers.