Thandanani Mhlanga

27 January 2010

The Nature Conservation Corporation, which has been managing several of the Peninsula's most problematic baboon troops for the past six months, has been awarded a new contract of more than R2-million to continue the service for another five months.

This was confirmed at a meeting of the City of Cape Town's bid adjudication committee yesterday.

The corporation was one of two service providers that submitted tenders. The contract will run from February 1 to June 30 this year, the end of the financial year.

Until the middle of last year, the programme was run by Jenni Trethowan's Baboon Matters.
However, when the time came to renew that contract, Trethowan had a disagreement with the City over cost.

She was also unhappy about a requirement that dispersing male baboons deemed problem animals be caught and delivered for euthanasia.

When an agreement could not be reached, Baboon Matters and two other organisations - one of them the Tokai-based The Nature Conservation Corporation, headed by Dean Ferreira - were invited to submit tenders for a new six-month contract that would run until January 31.

Ferreira's company won this bid.

However, there were allegations of irregularities in the awarding of this contract. This led to an investigation by the city's strategy and planning directorate, which found no proof of unfair or corrupt practices in the tender process.
The city's forensics department also investigated, but found no grounds for a further probe.

The new contract is worth R2 149 479.

The mayoral committee member for planning and environment, Marian Nieuwoudt, said there had been a marked decline in incidents between baboons and humans, thanks to the company's performance over the past six months.

Its reappointment would help to maintain the progress achieved and was a step towards finding a lasting solution, she said.

"It is also essential that a policy and legal framework are compiled for the management of the areas adjacent to the mountain.

"While it is essential that baboons be conserved to retain their role in our unique biodiversity, let us not lose sight of the value they have for the tourism industry, in addition to the social benefits of the monitoring programme, which provides employment for more than 50 people."
The company manages baboons with a "hold the line" strategy which aims to keep the animals out of urban areas at all costs, and it uses whips as a form of noise aversion - baboons are not hit - and a fire-fighting water cannon as part of this strategy.

The new contract does not include the management of all baboon troops on the Peninsula that interact with people along the urban edge of the Table Mountain National Park.