The threat of piracy along the African coastline could cause large losses in trade for South Africa.
|||The threat of piracy along the African coastline is one of the biggest problems facing the Department of Defence, but it is hamstrung by insufficient funds.
Now Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has mooted the possibility of SA Navy operations moving from Simon’s Town to Durban to combat it.
“The main problem we are experiencing now is (in) the Indian Ocean. It would not make sense to operate from Simon’s Town to try to deter piracy in the Indian Ocean.
“If piracy is not curbed, it will cause large losses in trade for South Africa,” she said in a briefing at Parliament on Sunday.
“People are thinking of avoiding our routes, and if they start opting for an alternative, we might as well close down our docks.”
Sisulu said her department was set on asking for 2 percent of GDP “as a basic minimum” for its budget.
“Our responsibilities are far greater than the amount of money that has been given to us. We have deployed around the coast and the borders and we are just not making it.”
The department hoped to set up an interministerial committee representing departments with an interest in free maritime trade, such as trade and industry, public enterprises and fisheries, to see whether it could pool resources to support maritime strategy.
A key recommendation at an anti-piracy summit last week was that SA should move its naval operations from Simon’s Town to Salisbury Island in Durban Bay – a move that would incur substantial costs.
Sisulu said that because of the heightened clampdown on piracy around the Horn of Africa, pirates were moving into waters that were closer to the Southern African Development Community (Sadec) region as “there is the possibility in their minds that it is easier to operate in our areas”.
Piracy had caused losses of between R1 billion and R16bn a year internationally. There were 17 incidents of piracy in Tanzanian waters in the past year alone, Sisulu said.
The recent discovery of oil in some Sadec countries meant
“they need our assistance to make sure we can protect that oil. This problem has begun to encroach on our waters.”
Sisulu said about 91 percent of trade between African countries involved shipping.
“The sea is a very important part of our work. Africa’s downstream oil consists of 44 refineries in 25 countries. This is a matter we have become increasingly aware needs to be protected. We need to put our best foot forward to put a line through piracy.”
Personnel were being deployed more as a deterrent than as a reactive force, with the SANDF involved in bilateral and multinational initiatives to protect Sadec waters.
The government’s maritime strategy was adopted at the Sadec summit in Angola last year and was now being piloted by SA, Mozambique and Tanzania . - The Star