The Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, has issued a ministerial order to the Airports Company SA (ACSA) Board to engage in a mediation process with a company that conducts the baggage screening at its airports.
This follows various engagements with the ACSA Board on several occasions to discuss its dispute with the Airports Co-ordination Services (ACS) Pty Ltd in relation to hold baggage screening and related services at ACSA’s airports.
ACSA is an entity of the Department of Transport.
The dispute also involves the South African Civil Aviation Authority.
The order was issued in terms of section 10(1)(a) of the Airports Company Act No. 44 of 1993, which empowers the Minister to take necessary steps to safeguard national security where a risk to critical infrastructure, public safety, or the national interest has been identified.
“I am concerned about the negative impact the protracted litigation could have on the integrity and reliability of hold baggage screening (HBS) as the first line of defence against threats in the aviation system at ACSA’s airports,” Creecy said on Thursday.
The dispute has resulted in multiple review applications, interdictory proceedings, and related appeal proceedings in the High Court.
“In this regard, I am satisfied that intervention is necessary to prevent potential disruption, compromise of national security, and reputational harm.
“As such, my engagements with the ACSA Board have, in the main, related to finding a solution to resolve the dispute amicably and timeously to obviate any destabilisation of an essential national security function,” the Minister said.
The objective of the mediation is to reach a settlement within the parameters of the applicable regulatory framework, which avoids a protracted legal dispute and safeguards national security.
The board has therefore been ordered to finalise and execute a mediation agreement, which contains the following terms of reference:
• Prepare and submit a comprehensive report within two weeks of the order setting out the total costs incurred in relation to the dispute to date. This report must include a detailed breakdown of all the legal fees, disbursements, and any other associated expenses borne by the State.
• Negotiate, during the mediation proceedings must be in good faith as the legal prescripts require that parties to the mediation, act in the best interests of national security.
• The long-term issues relate to the provision of service of HBS and its maintenance, compliance with the applicable regulatory frameworks, budgetary and fiscal constraints, the safety of passengers who use ACSA’s airports, potential revision of agreements, and the commercial relations between the parties.
• Transitional – there is a short-term issue relating to the continued and efficient functioning of the HBS system at ACSA’s airports and compliance with regulatory and international frameworks; compliance with international safety standards, which include the implementation of interim measures relating to the maintenance regime; and whether ACS / ACSA can or should install any HBS maintenance-related equipment, including the back-up HBS units.
• That the dispute pertaining to the entity that is statutorily responsible for the provision of the HBS and interrelated services, and by implication, the application of Section 217 of the Constitution, be addressed at the mediation. – SAnews.gov.za
