No skills for costly navy ships

PATROL vessels used to combat illegal poaching have not operated since being handed over to the South African Navy following the cancellation of a controversial R800-million fisheries tender.

The vessels, belonging to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, were transferred to the navy in April when the department cancelled a tender to empowerment group Sekunjalo.

Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson conceded, in reply to a parliamentary question on Thursday, that the vessels were berthed in Simon's Town because the navy did not have the expertise to operate them.

"At this stage, the department is in the process of recruiting specialised personnel to support the navy ... The first attempt did not attract suitable candidates due to the low salary packages offered," she said.

The operating of patrol and research vessels became the subject of a court case when Smit Amandla Marine, whose contract to operate the vessels ended in March, challenged the decision to award the tender to Sekunjalo.

An internal legal opinion obtained by the department found that the process followed in awarding the tender to Sekunjalo was flawed, leading to the cancellation of the contract. Joemat-Pettersson rejected advice to extend Smit Amandla Marine's contract while awaiting a new tender process, opting instead to ask the navy to operate the vessels.

The navy conceded that it had resorted to using its own vessels to conduct coastline patrols because its officers needed to be trained to operate the highly technical vessels.

Navy spokesman Prince Tshabalala said the first deployment of the vessels was expected at the beginning of September once all audits, surveys, repairs and training had been undertaken.

Joemat-Pettersson has instituted a commission of inquiry into the tender process.

She has also roped in the elite police crime-fighting unit The Hawks to probe alleged corruption in the fisheries branch worth over R1-billion.