Report finds irregularities in marine vessel management tender

Tender requirements may not have been met when the Marine Living Resources Fund procured goods and services from shipping company Smit Amandla Marine (SAM), according to findings by auditing firm Ernst & Young. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) commissioned the auditing firm in April to investigate alleged irregularities in the procurement processes and systems in the fisheries branch for the period January 1, 1999 to March 31, 2012. On October 1, the department issued a statement saying that the investigation confirmed multi-billion rand corruption in vessel management by Smit Amandla, a black empowerment shipping company that held the marine patrol and research tender for 17 years. “The agreement concluded in 2005 and subsequent extensions between SAM and the department failed to comply with the tender board regulations with departmental procurement policies, National Treasury regulations, income tax regulations and also the Public Finance Management Act, ” Sipho Ntombela, acting director-general at the DAFF, said. He continued: “As an example there was a contract extension entered into worth millions of rand by [a] mere letter without any proof of any tender process followed or supporting documentation.” He noted that the contracts signed in 2000, 2005 and 2010 were “deliberately drafted to have maximum benefit for SAM amounting to R1.6 billion to R2 billion”, adding that the available evidence pointed to complicity and corruption between government officials and the shipping company. However, the department toned down its statement on October 2, saying that the report had found a string of irregularities that warranted further investigation. Smit Amandla denies wrongdoing in the tenders during the period in question. INSERT ‘Available evidence points to complicity and corruption between government officials and the shipping company.’