OR Tambo Airport Crime incidents: ACSA update; DOT Quarter 4 performance

Meeting report

Opening remarks
The Chairperson welcomed ACSA and the Committee that had expressed concerns about the challenges faced by the main point of entry, which was one of the National Key Points. Concerns raised included the taxi industry was fighting there and other individuals were fighting to harvest what they did not sow. These were serious concerns that communities indicated should be addressed. 

She noted that the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Amendment Bill was to be considered today but was postponed until next week, and if not, in the week of 15 June.

Mr M De Freitas (DA) noted that by 7h00pm the previous day, he did not receive the presentation and asked if the presentation was received via email. Without the presentation, he felt unprepared to engage.

The Committee Secretary replied that the ACSA presentation was received two days prior to the meeting whereas the DOT presentation arrived on the eve of the meeting around 5pm, via email.

Mr C Hunsinger (DA) asked how presentation from ACSA was received.

The Secretary replied that the ACSA presentation was not sent via email, but by hand as hard copies.

The Chairperson apologised on behalf of the Secretary and commented that submission of hard copies was not something that usually happened. She noted that Members had not perused the presentation prior to attending the meeting.

Mr Bongeni Maseko, ACSA CEO, before introducing his team, remarked that ACSA would give an update on security related incidents that took place at OR Tambo International Airport as well the measures taken to enhance security.

Mr G Radebe (ANC) asked why ACSA Board Members were not present.

Mr M Sibande (ANC) seconded this. He commented that it had become a norm of calling entities to present to the Committee and thus come without Board Members. In terms of parliamentary protocols, they were accounting officers to them. This was unacceptable and could not be allowed to continue.

Mr De Freitas commented that this should not be repeated in the future and that note should be taken. When an entity was invited, it was always made clear that Board Members should attend.

The Chairperson agreed. She said that the Board Chairperson or another Board Member ought to be present. The Board Members were not only accountable to Parliament but also to the Shareholders.

Mr Maseko said that he had taken note of all concerns and these concerns would be conveyed to the Board if the Committee would allow his team to brief it. The matters to be briefed on were operational and he did not think they were issues f concern to the Board. The Board could come and brief the Committee if there were matters concerning the governance and thus account.

The Chairperson noted that ACSA would be allowed to present and the Board should come and account because matters of security were of concern to the public.

Mr Sibande said that it was a time that the Committee teach Board Members a lesson. In terms of the PFMA, they were accounting officers. Mr Maseko and his team should be turned away to come next week with the Board Members.

Mr Radebe accepted the apologies of Mr Maseko. He should be given an opportunity to present. The Committee should set a date to meet with the Board.

Mr T Mpanza seconded Radebe. He commented that the Committee should not punish the glass whilst the elephant was walking free.

Mr T Mulaudzi seconded Sibande. If the Board was not present – and given that their mandate was to account to Parliament, Mr Maseko and his managing team could not present. This would show seriousness of the Committee. The same problem happened with PRASA.

Mr De Freitas disagreed. The main issue was to present on security matters and not on other issues being raised by Members even though these issues were important. It should be unfair to Members to be denied an opportunity to ask questions and was concerned about the travelling budget.

The Chairperson agreed that Mr Maseko should go on and present. A letter to express unhappiness would be sent to the Board and the Committee would set a date to meet with Board Members. 

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) briefing
Mr Maseko took the Committee through the presentation. He stated that the presentation would be restricted to importance of air transport in South Africa, overview of OR Tambo International Airport, context and updates, airport security mandate, ACSA training academy, ACSA’s commitment to the plan, and multi-disciplinary integrated tactical security plan.

In his opening remark, Mr Maseko emphasised that the air transport sector made a huge contribution to the South African economy. Air transportation facilitated exports, foreign direct investment and tourism. It connected people around the world. OR Tambo was viewed as strategic location as it was the closest place in South Africa in travel time to the major global economic centres; the closest place in Gauteng in travel time to other local and African cities.

Mr Maseko noted that in the past two years, the safety and security of passengers, airport community, airport service providers and the public at OR Tambo International Airport had been on a decline, culminating in a high number of reported criminal incidents. In terms of the National Key Point Act (NKP), the South African Police Services (SAPS) was the legal custodian of the integrity of OR Tambo International Airport as a strategic state installation. The major lapses in the policing measures and the serious escalation of crime experienced over as many months at the Airport level required a more serious intervention. On 30 May 2017, a letter which outlined Airport Management and frustrations, was sent to the then Acting Commissioner of Police, Lt Gen KgomotsoPhahlane. The matter was subsequently escalated directly to Mr FikileMbalula, the Minister of Police, following the suspension of the Lt Gen Phahlane. On 06 June 2017, ACSA Executives met with the Minister of Police.

ACSA provided the Committee with a summary of incidents:
• 12 October 2016: African Freight Services (AFS) was robbed of a consignment of cellphones by armed men dressed as police officers;
• 21 October 2016: Big Five Duty Free employees were robbed of an undisclosed sum of money inside the main passenger building;
• 08 November 2016: Armed suspects using a Bid-Air vehicle gained access onto Airside via North Gate 1 and allegedly hijacked a Bid-Air operation vehicle;
• 27 November 2016: Hawks Officer and Police Officer allegedly shot and killed each other near Super South Gate;
• 07 March 2017: Armed robbery took place on Airside. Several men dressed in police uniform held up Reshebile security guards stationed at North Gate 1 and drove onto Airside where they stole R20 million destined for the United Kingdom;
• 01 April 2017: Cash in transit vehicle was blown up with explosive on R24: close to Barbara Road off ramp: four kilometres away from airport.
• 15 May 2017: Hijacking and murder took place on the ring road of the airport. Suspects stopped traffic and shot the driver of an H1 Hyundai execution style;
• 04 June 2017: Perishable cargo armed robbery took place;
• 01 July 2017: Swissport foiled warehouse armed robbery;
• 10 July 2017: Truck containing valuable goods coming from the airport was robbed;
• 15 July 2017: Follow-Home from airport to Bedfordview. Armed suspects held up an Uber driver and passenger. Goods to the value of R70 000 was taken; however, no injuries were caused.

Mr Maseko spoke about the matters raised with the Minister including corruption and collusion, lack of command and control, inadequate resourcing of government agencies, behaviour and lack of commitment of government agencies, lack of implementation of sustainable measures, poor management of roadways, non-existence of tactical intelligence, NKP safeguards, and effectiveness of investigation and prosecution.

Mr Maseko noted there were some successes already recorded based on the integrated multi-disciplinary tactical security plan approach. He alluded to the short term interventions implemented by the end of October 2017, to medium term interventions implemented by end of March 2018, and to a multi-disciplinary integrated tactical security plan in the context of operational structure (see document).

Discussion
The Chairperson noted that the matters raised by or in the presentation also concerned sister portfolios, including Intelligence, Police and Home Affairs.

Mr Sibande reiterated follow up was needed with the Board that it should account to the Committee. His questions could have been directed to the Board. Issues of security at airport should not be taken lightly. There was group of Members who visited European countries in the preparation of soccer match and this was followed by establishing certain security infrastructure and structures: Where are they? There was no consistency in ACSA security. What happened after the 2010 World Cup? The measure of success was of concern. They did not talk to others and align it with international relations. Why nothing was said about the guy who swallowed the condom? He checked the mandate against what Mr Maseko was presenting and found that they were not talking to each other. There was need to revisit them.

The problem was outsourcing the security duties to a company which did not have the capacity to carry out the security mandate. No one could count how many times bags were opened at airport and items taking out such as perfumes for security concerns. South African had capacity to secure its airports in terms of policing and to get information about what happening in the air. Why such information is not being obtained? Why such information is not being detected? For example, It was alleged that some of the people hijack cars that they would use in robbery and keep them stationed at airport for purpose of robbery operations. Those cars might be there for two days. It was alleged that when a car was parked under the roof of airport could not be satellite tracked or sensed. In the recent heist operation, criminals were using police cars and police uniforms, etc. What made this operation a joke was that ACSA works along a number of security companies, including Bosasa. Because of disconnection of communications of these companies, heist operations take place under their nose. It was alleged that South Africa had been identified by criminal syndicate as a soft spot. If one talk about all criminal activities, one felt emotional. Why South Africa could not operate like Israel? Is the Swissport a South African or international company? This point was raised because most of Companies which allegedly operating around the airport – if you can give us statistics – are those cooperate with Uber and follow people to their houses. Can you provide the Committee with the list of these companies, stating that whether they are South African or not. Since Uber had started to operate, there was an increase in the people who were followed. This did not imply that it was Uber following people. How many people had been followed since operation of Uber?

Mr Mpanza welcomed the presentation. It was very comprehensive. When they were taken through the presentation, he did not hear about the response from the Minister of Transport to these criminal incidents. This was a big omission. Many stakeholders should be included in order to respond to these problems for positive results. The issue of lack of resources and tools of training had been mentioned. No plan would be effective without sufficient resources. When you go to OR Tambo international airport, you will come across road blocks at exit – are they a long or short term plan? are they helping in curbing criminal activities? All these criminal activities had tarnished an image of South Africa. News about these activities was bad publicity. Was there a study conducted to analyse the impact of this bad publicity? Did it affect the rating of airport? Did it affect the tourism industry?

Mr Mulaudzi welcomed the presentation about sensitive matters and asked how other airports could deal with those particular incidents, comparatively. Mr Sibande had given an example of Israel. He added the country of Malaysia. They had their own of dealing with drugs. If one talked about the lack of command, whose command could be? Intelligence? Police? or Airport Management? Does the head of security of ACSA have a proper link with the police?  ACSA should have enough capacity to deal with crimes. On the question of lifestyle audit, why members of the management were not audited or checked? Why cleaners were excluded? All staff members should be checked, including Board Members. In the protection of airports, all the Ministers concerned ought to be included.

The Chairperson said that she absolved Board Members from lifestyle audit because they go through security check-ups when they were employed.

Mr De Freitas said that he wanted to understand historically whether security staff had been vetted at all. Are they on ACSA payroll? These questions were asked because at airports around the world, security staff members did not form part of airport entity. It might be a perception, but it looked like security of airport was not taken serious. These major incidents had not taken place somewhere else. Members often travelled and could tell that the security maintenance in South Africa was a problem.  When someone landed at airport, that individuals would sense quickly that he or she had landed at an African airport and this send a wrong message and perception. How did ACSA identify a list of items that could not be travelled with? Are these items listed internationally? How can you rate the South African airports internationally? It was of concern that drugs could be sneaked in the country easily, compared to other airports. When other airports are designed, they include security specialists in the design to accommodate security issues. Who are these people monitoring us at the airport? What the use of the road blocks at airports? Are they were coordinated?

Mr Hunsinger remarked that he was covered by his colleagues. He remarked that there was a need to look at other countries, specifically, how they dealt with similar matters. He suggested that budget should be prioritised and allocated to implement strategic security planning.

The Chairperson said that any further questions should be communicated to the Secretary of the Committee and that ACSA should respond to some questions in writing. She said that there were a number of factors that JOC (i.e. Airports Company South Africa, OR Tambo International Airport, Security Parade Room) should have a strategy to operate. The questions of terrorism and cyber-crimes were so serious. DOT of Health should be brought on board. She always asked herself whether the scanning was effective – because when the scanner rang they would just ask what was a problem and one could only say that it was his/her teeth or a bone that was medically replaced. And then one would go through the scanning process without any further security check to verify whether a person was telling the truth.

Mr Maseko welcomed the inputs from Members. On the question of sustainability with specific reference to the security plan during the World Cup, the reasons that these plans were successfully completed in seven days was that these plans were revived during the World Cup and the important thing was that when there was an event in South Africa the security was boosted to have the safest airports. After the event, it seemed like there was relaxation. In the presentation, the issue of sustainability of security plans had been raised. There should be no plan that was defined for a particular period.  Sometimes, resources were taken from airports to deal with other security problems taking somewhere else. For sustainability to be achieved, airports should have their own resources and this should be communicated to other Committees. In the JOC, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation and Health was represented. All relevant departments were represented. On the security scrutiny, the reason why they were building integrated security control room was because they wanted to integrate and systematise security control so that, for example, immigration staff could be able to respond quickly to matters concerning them. DOT of Home Affairs would be able to increase the manpower. All concerned department would easily respond. The security on the floor would be able to respond. And if it was an issue on the road, Ekurhuleni Metro Police and traffic department would respond. The security issues were not insurmountable because ACSA did during the World Cup. With regard to luggage, there were still incidents of luggage theft and they were remarkably reduced down from where they were. It was an area that ACSA was responsible and was continuing monitoring and pro-actively managing. With regard to outsourcing the luggage handling companies, they were indeed handled by certain outsourced companies and, as a result, ACSA was regarded by economic regulator as a monopoly and it was the same airline that preferred outsource model for fear that if ACSA would have a complete monopoly on how it charged it and there would be no competition. That was the reason ACSA outsourced that particular area. On the question of non-South African related companies, ACSA would provide that list. These companies provided specialised services or skills. They dealt with, for example, handling luggage system as this system was unique to South Africa. On the other hand, slide 17 dealt with good results that have been achieved and the list was still growing.

On the question of roadblocks, Ekurhuleni Metro Police had committed to deploying additional officers and he hoped that this operation was going to be sustainable as it worked as deterrent.

On the question of bad publicity, it was noted that an insecurity incident would attract bad publicity. Due to insecurity incidents, Ghanaians had for example established a website through which they warn people to come in South Africa.  The bad publicity had escalated to another level and it needed a response. There was a tele-conference led by the Minister Mbalula, screened live, to show client that issues of security were taken seriously. These issues were not going to be resolved in a short term. Even though the situations were monitored, these situations had turned into crisis. A radical response was needed that would send a message to foreign authorities whereby they would stop it from warning their people to come into South Africa.  

On the question of whether ranking and rating was affected, ACSA would be able to know this at the end of the year as ranking/rating was done annually. His fear was that security was the main component based on when ranking or rating airports.

On the question benchmarking, ACSA sponsored trips with the SAPS to allow them to benchmark. They went to various countries, including UK, Germany, Belgium and Holland. ACSA wanted them to see how their counterparts monitored and enforced security. The SAPS should take note that airports were not ordinary places and that its security ought to be ensured at all times. The purpose of trip was to do a benchmarking.

On the question of lack of command and control, these components were lacking in the governmental agencies. Mainly during the weekends, you would find that there were some sports where security was not tighten. There were some challenges when it came to services provided by the state agents. For example, the points that were used by robbers to have access to the airport, there were police officers and the officers who were supposed to do security manning did not their job. Their airport was the first impression of the country and therefore ACSA was pleading for having an effective security system in the place which should be based on good communications and holding each other (the concerned departments) accountable.

On the question of auditing lifestyle, all people’s lifestyle should be audited. This was a good question. There were 35 000 people at OR Tambo which ACSA knew about. They knew only those who were on ACSA database. It excluded certain people like drivers of Uber and shopkeeper in the terminal/public areas.

On the question of security vetting, the security officers was not vetted. They were about to be vetted. They were not ACSA payroll, except those who screen clients when entering aircraft. Those who guarded aircraft were not ACSA’s.

On the question of tourism, there was no significant impact on the tourism cause by the incidents. Tourism was growing.

On the question of designing airport, it included multi-disciplinary tactical security plan approaches.
He concluded stating that ACSA was available to come and interact with the Committee on matters that could need more clarity.

The Chairperson said that there were critical issues raised by Members which needed answers from the Board. The Committed wished to meet with the Board to clarify other matters not related to security.

Department of Transport Quarter 4 performance
Mr Clement Manyungwana, DOT Acting Deputy Director General: Maritime, focused on overall performance overview, department comparative analysis, Q4 analysis per programme, areas of notable achievement and of non-achievement, and financial Information. He noted that the number of targets achieved was 36, whereas non-achieved targets were 12 in that the level of overall performance was 75%.

On finance performance, Mr Manyungwana stated provided the Committee with information as it pertained to expenditure per programme, expenditure per economic classification, transfer payments, and conditional grants. The overall or total budget of DOT stood at R56.2 billion and this budget was all spent.  Reporting per programme,  Mr Manyungwana noted the following:
In terms of road transport, DOT overspent by R177 million as a result of the unfunded mandate of maintaining and operating cost of Electronic National Traffic Information System (eNaTIS).
In terms of civil aviation, DOT underspent by an earmarked amount of
R47.8 million for the upgrade of a satellite tracking system and R2 million on compensation of employees.
In terms of maritime transport, DOT underspent by R2.8 million as a result of an earmarked amount for the tug boat feasibility study. An amount of
R35.5 million was shifted to cover the over expenditure cost for the Oil Pollution project and SAMSA debt.
In terms of public transport, DOT underspent by R7 million mainly due to (i) the Review of the Taxi Recapitalisation Model and (ii) delays in other projects on goods and services. Yet, a total of R98.3 million was shifted to other programmes to cover the over expenditure, mainly in Road Transport and Maritime Transport.

Reporting on expenditure per economic classification, Mr Manyungwana noted that:
The department under spent by R39 million in terms of compensation of employees mainly due to the saving which was as a result of once off additional funding for filling of critical posts. Funds were shifted across programmes to reduce the over expenditure on Programme 4: Road Transport and to compensate for the shortfall.
There was an over spending of R134 million in terms of goods and services mainly due to the cost of the unfunded mandate of maintaining and operating the eNaTIS. Funds were shifted from goods and services to the following transfers and subsidies: Air Traffic Navigation Services, Railway Safety Regulator, Taxi Recapitalisation Model as well as to machinery and equipment.
There was an over spent by R8 million in terms of transfer and subsidies due to changes in the exchange rates for foreign membership fees. An amount R52 million approved as transfer to the Air Traffic Navigation Services for the implementation of the South African migration to the new COSPAS-SARSAT Medium Altitude Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEAOSAR) satellite system within the same programme.

Discussion
Mr Radebe welcomed the report and raised his disappointment with regards to certain programmes that were not performing. This was a reflection of a lot of challenges faced by the Department. What would the outcome of Auditor-General look like in terms of all comments that were made? It looks that administration had become a huge challenge and these challenges could not be addressed. He needed clarity on competition of employees, especially, what happened? They were still many positions that were vacant. What were the views of the CFO with regard to the Department’s continuation to transfer money to its entities? Were the transferred money well monitored? Given that the Department was not performing well in certain programmes, transferred money were not well monitored. There was a need to engage with municipalities and call them to account to parliament in terms of how they managed grants. There was a need to know what challenges, faced by municipalities were.

Mr Mpanza said that he would like to make a follow-up to vacancies. He remarked that there last time there was an issue of filling senior positions. There was a need of a leader. How far was the process of filling these positions that were advertised?  He asked whether the Department conducted skills audit and what would be critical skills. With regard to programme, DOT stated that it was underperformed and targets were not achieved and for that, it decided to slow down. Was over performing a crime or a rewardable thing? Issue of under spending was a problem that cut across all departments and it should be treated with a contempt it deserved. It should be viewed as a crime. It should be not acceptable unless where there were compelling reasons.

Mr Mulaudzi welcomed the presentation and asked questions on programmes. He remarked that the programmes’ performance started from quarter one slowing down. What were challenges of not getting 100% because targets were designed by the Department? The Committee could not be pleased by the 75% achievement because the non-achieved 25% was affecting the Department’s overall operations. A hundred percent was needed to serve the people. This could started from quarter one to quarter four. There was a question on money paid on legal services, especially, those money were paid when the Department lost a case. He was very concerned by giving SANTACO R20 million each and every year in the form of grant. Why the Department was discriminating others national taxi alliances? Why did SANTACO receive this kind of money? Was not money being used to kill other drivers? Underspend ought to be a crime. The CFO had designed money needed for an effective performance and under performance would be an insult to the CFO and thus send a message that CFO was merely playing with figures.

Mr Hunsinger asked a question on programme six. Under this programme, the Department over-spent 27% of allocated budget and this was a significant amount of money. Were issues of oil pollution not budgeted for? How such overspending of this huge amount could be explained? How this could be aligned with planning? Referring to the court ruling, he noted that the Committee needed to be given a clear indication of what the court said with regard to payment of employees’ compensation. This talked about the aligning of the budget. A presentation should be made on the court ruling.

The Chairperson seconded Mr Mulaudzi and noted that a statement was needed in respect of SANTACO, in particular, the reason why it should be given money. What did money do if they have failed to perform a 100%?

On the question of non-performance and over-spending, Mr Manyungwana said that when the Department planned its annual performance plan, it broke down targets per quarter. One could plan that on quarter two one would be achieved, but one might know what contributions and inputs would be put in to make it a reality. Policy development should be distinguished from actual policy implementation. If people were employed, they were kept paid. The big chuck that other programmes had was amount of services. The big chuck was compensation of employees. Under-spending should not be translated to say that people did not work. A job had been done, and invoices had been submitted, and not yet cleared. If the money was not paid, money was still unspent.

Mr Radebe said that people were working but not achieving. What are they doing?

Mr Collins Letsoalo responded that people were coming to work every morning and sign in, do their work as expected and leave. For example, the APP might state that they would finalise a draft in the first quarter. In quarter, they focus on drafting a policy. The finalisation of draft would require undergoing public consultation processes. During these processes, everyone stakeholder would find an issue with the first draft. Due to incorporating these views, the first quarter would come to an end without finalising the draft. Of course, people working on draft would be paid even though the draft had been finalised. A target had not been achieved. No one could argue that these people should not be paid.

On the question of administrative challenge, he noted that it was. For example, it was not easy to fill a vacancy because when an employee resigned, a position budget ought to be frozen until a replacement is found.

On the question of a proper monitoring and managing money, he responded that money transferred was monitored well to the extent that they could. The Constitution stipulated that one could not manage the functions which do not fall in his/her mandate, no matter how good one might be. If it was a provincial road for example, it was a schedule 5 matter. DOT could just give money. What the Department could state what to prioritise because money or grant was provided on basis of conditions. If grant had been released, could not be stopped. DOT could go to municipalities to check how money was spent and this was done through auditing. There was a question of auditing and question of knowing was, for example, the road paved was of quality. How one would know that the paved road would not have pot holes only after three months.

On the question of filling vacancies, he responded that the positions were re-advertised and noted that he was happy to share with the Committee that skills audit had been conducted.

On the question of under-spending, he responded that both over-spending and under-spending should be treated the same. He disagreed with Mr Mulaudzi that the Department should always perform a 100% and thus noted that the threshold requirement for performance was 94%.

On SANTACO, he responded that other entities were funded by regulated industries. SANTACO was the Department’s entity and was created with a reason.

The Chairperson thanked the CFO and remarked that the questions raised were very relevant and critical, in particular, issues of monitoring because this was important to get the value for money. Monitoring system needed to be established that ensured that three tiers of government were able to monitor and call to account.

The meeting was adjourned.