Something fishy in R1bn patrol tender

04 December 2011 - 04:04 By BOBBY JORDAN
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A POLITICALLY connected consortium which owns one of the country's biggest fishing companies has secured a nearly R1-billion tender to police South Africa's fishing industry at sea.

Top empowerment firm Sekunjalo Investments heads the consortium.

This has triggered concerns that the company is set to become both player and referee in the policing of the country's R2-billion-a-year fishing industry.

Sekunjalo owns a majority stake in Premier Fishing, which is active in several fisheries including rock lobster, anchovies, pilchard, hake and squid.

A senior industry source said giving a fishing company influence over the country's patrol fleet was a case of "the wolf guarding the hen house".

Sekunjalo chairman Iqbal Survé frequently travels abroad on state and business trips with government ministers and President Jacob Zuma. He is also a director of Premier Fishing, which was last week exposed for paying R100000 to provide around the clock security at the private home of International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane in Polokwane.

The minister failed to declare the payments to parliament.

Survé is an influential business tycoon with interests in health, telecommunications, IT and fishing.

Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson announced the five-year deal with the Sekunjalo-led consortium last week - even though her department has confirmed that a due diligence has yet to be concluded.

A press invitation to the "celebratory announcement" in a ballroom at the Table Bay Hotel last week stated that "the minister will unveil a five-year service-delivery agreement with Sekunjalo Group".

Industry stakeholders this week expressed shock that Sekunjalo was to be entrusted with one of the country's key maritime assets, a fleet of seven government vessels responsible for scientific surveys, anti-poaching patrols, and inspections of fishing trawlers for illegal activities.

"There is a conflict. The vessels include both research and patrol vessels and Sekunjalo is the holding company of Premier Fishing!

"Here we have a fishing company in charge of 'managing' patrol vessels for goodness' sake," said Shaheen Moolla, the government's former head of fisheries management.

A spokesman for the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Hein Wyngaard, said DAFF and Sekunjalo would put "measures in place" to ensure there was no conflict of interest during fishing patrols.

Wyngaard said: "The issue of the perceived conflict of interest has been considered by the department and the risk will be mitigated with appropriate control measures that will be put in place by the department and Sekunjalo Consortium."

Smit Amandla, the shipping company currently in charge of managing South Africa's anti-poaching patrol fleet, has requested information from DAFF regarding the deal, according to its company spokeswoman, Clare Gomes.

Sekunjalo this week confirmed the tender committee had raised queries related to a potential conflict of interest concerning its "sister company", Premier Fishing.

Company spokesman Kaveer Bharath said: "We believe that this is a fair question and in the interest of transparency and good governance, we are comfortable acknowledging this and happy to share that we went to great lengths to address the committee's queries relating to this issue."

Premier controversially retrenched dozens of workers from its Saldanha plant in 2009 - and clashed with trustees over unpaid dividends to a workers trust, according to documents in the possession of the Sunday Times.

The company is also embroiled in a bitter legal battle with two of its former fishing executives, in a case that is laying bare its past financial challenges

Bharath said even though Sekunjalo staff would be on the patrol vessels, the skipper and crew members of the fishing company's vessels would not have "any advance knowledge of a patrol vessel's course".

Moolla, who used to be in charge of the patrol fleet said: "That is ridiculous! My [government] team was in charge of those vessels - they had to confer with the management team. I mean if they didn't know where they were going how would they have enough food or fuel on board?"

Artisanal Fishers Association spokesman Andy Johnston said: "G ranting the tender to maintain and man the government's compliance vessels to a group that has a large industrial fishing company under its jurisdiction is ridiculous and bizarre."

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