The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) takes full responsibility for the FoodCorp deal and has already started a process to investigate this matter and to identify people who might have been responsible for it.
According to the delegation of authority, signed by Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson at the assumption of duty, and in line with Section 79 of the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA), the Minister delegated all the powers conferred upon her in terms of the MLRA except the power to make regulations.
She then, according to Section 80 of the MLRA, would then act only as the appeals authority.
As a result of this, Minister Joemat-Pettersson was never involved in, consulted on, or her advice was never sought on the allocation of rights, issuing, transferring, revoking, suspending, cancelling, altering or reducing of permits, rights or licences, the determination of total allowable catches or even the establishments of zones or areas for subsistence fisheries.
It is therefore incorrect and unfair to suggest, infer, assume or imply that Minister Joemat-Pettersson was involved in the FoodCorp deal or had any say on the deal.
As the delegated authority, DAFF takes full responsibly for the deal, commits itself to investigate the involvement of staff members involved in it, promises to take the necessary steps if anyone is found to have done wrong and we will do whatever is required to ensure that the deal be either rescinded or done in a fair and transparent way.
We wish to point out that it is not the first time that the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is blamed for unpopular decisions made by the Fisheries Branch of DAFF. Such suggestions seek to apportion blame away from those who made the decisions as per the delegation of authority and prevented the DAFF to do what is right and responsible.
When those individuals are then identified and acted against, the secondary suggestion, that they become the “fall guys” for the Minister or that they are “taking blame” or are being “scapegoats”, is then perpetuated. As a responsible government, we are required to act against staff that are found to have done wrong and cannot, with the help of the public and media, protect them.
Enquiries:
Lionel R. Adendorf
Director: Communication Services (Fisheries)
Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Cell: 076 267 5838
Tel: 021 402 3702
Fax: 021 425 8635
E-mail: LionelA@daff.gov.za
