Committee Conducts Successful Oversight Visit to South African Navy

The Select Committee on Security and Justice yesterday conducted a fruitful oversight visit to the South African Navy base in Simonstown in Cape Town. It was the committee's first oversight visit to the Navy since its election in the 7^th Parliament.

Committee Chairperson Ms Jane Mananiso said committee wished to familiarise itself with the workings of the Navy and to engage on its 2023/24 annual performance report and 2024/25 performance indicators. "We are a new committee. We wanted to hear first-hand the challenges that they have and how we can assist from our side," she said.

Ms Mananiso said the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is the backbone of securing South Africa from external threats and, within the value chain of the security cluster, assists with maritime safety, border patrol, and air and land space monitoring, among other valuable functions. "The naval base was chosen for the committee to receive a comprehensive introduction to the work of the Navy and its programmes, staffing, challenges, infrastructure, maintenance of its assets and how the budgetary constraints impact on operations," she elaborated.

At the start of yesterday's proceedings, Ms Mananiso invoked Rule 127 of the National Council of Provinces wherein she said a committee can, at the start of a meeting, deliberate on whether to close its proceedings to the public, if it deems that the information be presented is of a confidential nature and will impact on the country's security.

The committee deliberated behind closed doors on the matter. A majority agreed to the proposal, but some indicated that this should have been decided on prior to the visit, had the Navy previously indicated the information was confidential and if its presentations had been received on time. The committee then resolved that the meeting with the department and the Minister, Ms Angie Motshekga, would be closed to the public but thereafter the physical oversight and walkabout would be open to all.

The committee heard that the Navy is working hard to provide combat-ready vessels and platforms for the defence of the country and to satisfy its international commitments. It is further committed to eradicating all acts of maritime criminality within South Africa's domain and surrounding waters.

However, years of underfunding has resulted in the scheduled upkeep, maintenance and repairs of vessels falling behind. This has severely compromised the Navy's ability to "fight and win" at sea.

The committee heard that South Africa has 3 924 kilometres of maritime borders, with 96% of South Africa's imports and exports moving by sea. The Navy said that its "Operation Corona" maritime coastal patrols are a deterrent to illegal, unregulated and uncontrolled fishing, but the monetary value of these forms of fishing exceeds that of legal fishing. Nonetheless, the Navy is working with other departments to stem this criminality.

The committee heard that the Navy did not achieve on its "hours at sea per year" target for the 2023/2024 financial year due to prolonged maintenance and repairs to its vessels. This is mainly due to capacity constraints at Armscor dockyard and is further compounded by procurement challenges. The committed suggested that a better working relationship between the Navy and Armscor is required.

Ms Mananiso said the committee also requested information about transformation relating to women, disability and LGBTQ+ and was assured that programmes exists within the Navy to ensure integration.

The committee also did a walkabout of the naval base, boarded the SA Drakensberg, and visited the dry dock and the maintenance workshop. "We have seen the picture and it shows the capabilities. This is one of the spaces where it really shows you must find a way to deal with procurement matters. It was also highlighted to us that the new Bill in terms of procurement [needs to] assist them to find a better way of dealing with procurement," said Ms Mananiso.

"The committee will forever advocate for more budget. We have emphasised, too, that they need to better prioritise. They have committed to meet the targets that they underachieved on. We are committed to work with them. We requested a detailed report on procurement and supply chain matters so we can ascertain if everything is above board or if consequence management should be meted out. We are moving in the right direction, irrespective of the challenges," the Chairperson said.

Rajaa Azzakani
14 November 2024