Who is really behind the R1.8bn firefighting deal?

So what exactly is going on with the massive R1.8 billion government contract for firefighting?

It’s been with the same group for two decades but, suddenly, the renewal has gone to a newcomer that allegedly doesn’t have an aviation background, or the required people and equipment.

The department of forestry, fisheries and the environment told us it was not aware that the new contract holder, the Tefla Group, had finalised an agreement to subcontract the work to someone else.

Yet, oddly, it said this was one of the terms of reference of the contract – that “designated groups” be involved as subcontractors.

In South Africa, we all know that designated groups means the previously disadvantaged – although in many cases, there is very little trickle-down from the elite at the top, who actually win the business.

In the case of this contract, the company which has been running the programme successfully up to now, Kishugu, has reached “an interim agreement” with Tefla to keep operations running.

Not only that, Kishugu has told its shareholders it is working towards a similar arrangement for the entirety of the Tefla main contract, which runs until January 2028.

Kishugu won’t elaborate, despite a list of questions we sent them.

We don’t blame them: shut up and take the money works well for many in this country.

But, as the saying goes: if it waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck, then maybe it is.

In the same vein, in the absence of information to the contrary, the fact that Kishugu is still doing the work and continues to do so via a subcontract, makes this start looking a lot like “contract farming”.

In other words, a new contract holder is making money while someone else delivers the service.

Or, “rent seeking”… where leeches are feeding off the public purse.