Kishugu keeps operations running after Tefla wins R1.8bn Working on Fire contract

A short-term deal is keeping South Africa’s largest veld-firefighting programme operational after a new contractor was awarded the department of forestry, fisheries and the environment’s Working on Fire contract.

Interim agreement to maintain continuity

According to The Citizen, Kishugu Group said it reached an interim agreement on 31 July to ensure continuity during the transition after the Tefla Group was awarded the more than R1.8 billion contract.

Which services will continue

According to a communique, which The Citizen has seen, Kishugu Aviation will continue providing aerial firefighting services, Kishugu Fleet Solutions will provide the ground fleet, Kishugu Training will continue with training, while Working on Fire, a Kishugu Group company, will retain the programme management under Tefla’s management of the department contract.

“We are also working towards concluding a long-term agreement with Tefla to provide these services for the remainder of the department contract period, covering 1 September, through to 5 January 2028,”

the memo stated, according to The Citizen.

According to The Citizen, Kishugu also reassured the parties that this development had no impact on any of their existing contractual commitments with clients outside of the department’s contract and that all such agreements continue as normal.

Questions over capacity and procurement

Civil rights organisation AfriForum is pursuing access to procurement records to establish how the successful bidder was evaluated, The Citizen reports.

According to The Citizen, AfriForum expressed concerns that Tefla appeared to lack the specialist expertise, personnel, equipment and operational capacity required to implement the programme. The organisation said aerial firefighting and wildfire management require highly specialised technical expertise, aviation resources and operational infrastructure.

The Citizen reported claims that the bulk of the aerial firefighting component, allegedly valued at R650 million a year, will be carried out by Kishugu Aviation.

Kishugu’s public position

According to The Citizen, Kishugu has insisted that Tefla Group was awarded the tender to implement the Working on Fire Programme, effective 1 August.

Linton Rensburg, a Kishugu Aviation spokesperson, was quoted saying that the company’s priority has been ensuring wildfire response capacity and safety amid the projected ‘super El Niño’ and its anticipated impact on wildland fire conditions.

According to The Citizen, Rensburg also said that since 2003 the Working on Fire/Kishugu joint venture successfully delivered integrated fire management services nationwide and on the international stage, and that Kishugu is ready to assist the department and Tefla to ensure continuity during the transition period.

Responses and next steps

According to The Citizen, neither Tefla, nor the department had responded to questions by the time of publishing.

AfriForum’s request for procurement documents aims to clarify how the tender was evaluated and whether the interim arrangements were foreseen in the adjudication process, The Citizen reports.