Robben Island has been facing numerous problems and scandals including allegations of gross financial mismanagement, leadership battles, corruption and theft during the last few years. A statement released by the City of Cape Town mentioned that if the poor management of Robben Island continues, the island risks losing its status as a World Heritage Site. Desiree van der Walt, DA deputy minister of arts and culture, said last year she was shocked by the state of the island.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks in the management of the island is the ferry, which came in the spotlight numerous times because of recurrent breakdowns. The new R26m ferry Sikhululekile (We are Free) broke down three times in four months at the beginning of 2010. The breakdowns resulted in thousands of tourists having their trips cancelled during peak tourism periods. In January this year, former acting ceo Jatti Bredekamp, questioned the suitability of the vessel to do the work required. He said: “It’s being used as a workhorse, and I have asked, how equipped is it to be exploited.” Other scandals in the history of the ferry include an alleged non-payment of R2 million to boat builder Farocean as well as large amounts of fuel for the ferry allegedly being siphoned off by staff.
Cape Town Tourism’s official spokesperson, Mariette Du Toit-Helmbold, said the city was in talks with Robben Island to address any problems. She said: “Robben Island is one of Cape Town’s most iconic attractions – and also one of the most logistically challenging in terms of access, which is ferry- and weather-dependent. Cape Town Tourism will be meeting with Robben Island management soon to discuss ways of supporting them in optimising this world-renowned attraction for Cape Town. In the interim, we are in regular contact with the island and visitors can call our contact centre on 021 487 6800 or go onto our website www.capetown.travel to see what the status of the Robben Island Ferry is on any given day.”
Besides the council-owned ferry to Robben Island, Original Boats recently started operating a VIP Boat Service to Robben Island on a seven-star luxury motor yacht, Inala. It is the first and only private cruise from Cape Town to Robben Island. A few months after the start of the operations, Thebe Tourism Group announced signing a deal with Original Boats, which put into effect an exclusive relationship, wherein Thebe Tourism Inbound would be the exclusive marketing and booking agent for Inala. Soon after signing the deal, Thebe came under fire in the Sunday Times for its financial involvement with the ANC. The newspaper claimed the ANC was poised to score from the lucrative deal struck by Thebe to market the luxury charters to Robben Island.
When asked whether Original Boats would consider offering less luxurious charters to the island, John Martin commented that the minute the Robben Island Council put out a tender for a privately operated ferry, Original Boats would come to the party. He said the company had been trying to get information for a tender from the council for the past 18 months without any avail. Martin said: “We have the money and the resources and we can get a ferry in the water within six weeks.” According to Martin, the Robben Island council did put out a tender for a private ferry two years ago. The tender was allegedly awarded to a company in Bloemfontein who didn’t even pitch at the site. No ferry has arrived to this day.
