Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) sponsored a trip to Europe for members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Acsa security at the OR Tambo International Airport, the Portfolio Committee on Transport has heard.

Acsa’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Bongani Maseko, said the intention is to understand airport security from European airports, some of which have had experiences of dealing with terrorist attacks like Heathrow in London.

Acsa, together with the Department of Transport, came to brief the Committee on the annual performance plans (APPs), the budget and the strategic plans. Members sought clarity on the heist that recently occurred at OR Tambo, where a cargo box containing cash to the tune of millions was taken.

“We have raised a concern around policing at OR Tambo International. There are just too many loiterers at the airport, a phenomenon one could not find at any other major international airport. These people are not ideal for airport security and you do not get them at international airports,” Mr Maseko said.

“There is also an emerging threat at airports and it is called “insider threat”, and it is mainly from people who work in the system and understand the system. Valuable cargo is escorted by SAPS and on that day (of the heist) they were nowhere to be found,” he said.

“The people (robbers) knew exactly where to go and which bin to take. We have followed up with this as a lot of protocols were not followed. There is no way that this operation could be done in 45 minutes,” he said.

He said there were about 40 000 people who work daily at the airport and that the capacity of the state was weak to vet over 40 000 people. “We have said to the police, treat everybody as a suspect and we were clear to them that this was an inside job,” he said and indicated that video materials had been handed over to the Hawks, as well as the Portfolio Committee on Intelligence.

“The trip will hopefully assist the police and the security personnel to come up with a new strategy that will realise improved policing.”

Members sought clarity on the whereabouts of airlines such as Skywise and Santaco Airways, and whether the money Skywise owed Acsa had been repaid. Other issues that Members sought clarity on included whether income through shares at Mumbai and Sao Paulo was being realised, the budgetary financial impact of the recent meal strike by SAA staffers, empowerment of small business initiatives, and if the Acsa board is quorate.

Mr Maseko replied that Acsa had been engaged in radical economic transformation long before if found expression in the 2017 State of the Nation Address. He said the weakness with Acsa’s economic transformation strategy was that it was one broad strategy that encompassed all sectors.

“But we have realised that we need to understand the sectors broadly. Now we will be going on tender on construction, car hire and catering strategies. We have interacted with the Minister of Small Business Development. She showed interest in understanding the Acsa business. But also we are working closer with banks in trying to persuade them to work with small businesses that want to do business at the airport,” he said.

He said the board was duly quorate and that Acsa read only in the media about Santaco Airways, and that it never got off the ground.

“There are things we could have done better, there are rules that we could have relaxed to benefit small businesses,” he said.

By Sibongile Maputi
3 May 2017