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The Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans started its two-day oversight programme by a visit to ARMSCOR facilities in Pretoria. The programme included a visit to Gerotek and Technopark that house research and development facilities such as Protechnik, Ergotech and Hazmat.

The committee toured the facilities which included a high-speed track and Skid pad for advanced driving. The committee recommended that Gerotek must explore other avenues by engaging with government departments to ensure that its facilities are used optimally by stakeholders within and outside the security structures.

Furthermore, the committee 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 for the entity.

The committee was informed that there were people who have occupied the land and built houses next to Gerotek’s testing facilities and that situation needed to be addressed. The acting Chairperson of the committee, Mr Thabo Mmutle said: “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.”

During the visit to AMRSCOR’s Technopark, the committee was concerned about an ongoing issue of the poor quality of boots provided to the military. It recommended that research and development must look into ways to find suitable shoes for the military.

The committee also visited Denel Land Systems at Lyttelton to conduct site inspections on the status of Badger development. Denel’s officials said they have been unable to meet their contractual obligations due to ARMSCOR’s refusal to accept deliverables of the contract on Hoefyster. The committee said Denel needed to be truthful on why they could not meet their targets to the client which is South African National Defence Force.

Mr Mmutle said there is no need to sugar-coat or hide anything. He also said that Denel was way beyond the timelines in terms of the delivery of the project. The committee appreciated the presentation and walkabout which it said were impressive. However, it said Denel’s presentation was untruthful.

The committee will call on both ARMSCOR and Denel to come and make presentations on the way forward to resolve the challenges that the project experiences.

Issued by The Acting Chairperson of The Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, Thabo Mmutle