The Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans this week visited the facilities of State-owned Armscor and Denel as part of an oversight programme and urged the entities to explore new avenues to use their assets and find solutions to the challenges they are facing.
During the visit to Armscor’s Technopark, the committee was concerned about the ongoing issue of the poor quality of boots provided to military personnel. It recommended that research and development must look into finding suitable shoes for the military personnel.
The committee also visited Denel Land Systems, in Lyttelton, to conduct site inspections on the status of Badger development. Denel’s officials said they have been unable to meet their contractual obligations owing to Armscor’s refusal to accept deliverables of the contract on Project Hoefyster.
However, the committee said Denel needed to be truthful about why it could not meet its targets to the client, which is the South African National Defence Force.
Acting committee chairperson Thabo Mmutle said there was no need for Denel to sugarcoat or hide anything. He added that Denel was far over the timelines in terms of the delivery of the project.
"The committee will call on both Armscor and Denel to make presentations on the way forward to resolve the challenges that the project experiences," he added.
Further, the oversight programme included a visit to Gerotek and Technopark, which houses research and development facilities such as Protechnik, Ergotech and Hazmat.
The facilities include a high-speed track and skid pad for advanced driving, and the committee recommended that Gerotek explore other avenues by engaging with government departments to ensure its facilities are used by stakeholders within and outside the security structures.
It recommended that Gerotek market its services to stakeholders such as the South African Police Service, the Department of Transport and traffic police to generate revenue.
Additionally, the committee was informed that people had occupied the land and built houses next to Gerotek’s testing facilities, which needed to be addressed.
“The committee recommended that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure can be engaged to explore the possibility of transferring the land to Gerotek directly,” Mmutle said.