The Fidelity Group continues its successful security operation at Transnet, despite a probe into a reportedly R2 billion tender, on which key sectors of the South African economy depend, Transnet has confirmed.

Transnet has now provided a rare insight into how it and its major customers structure and conduct operations covertly for the survival and functioning of a key South African rail communication route, which has been besieged by syndicates plundering and blocking export and import routes.

Fidelity is deployed on the economically vital Transnet North-East Corridor, one of South Africa’s key export routes, and on the coal line to the port of Richards Bay in KwaZulu Natal, Transnet confirmed on enquiry to ProtectionWeb.

It has emerged that a previously top-secret network of Transnet customers has formed a collaborative security network with the utility and have contracted Fidelity to protect the Richards Bay Coal terminal. Fidelity is also protecting the railway line in a parallel operation until at least October 2024.

The Fidelity operation has been ongoing for over a year and will continue to do so until such time a lawful reason emerged to set aside the tender, Transnet said.

Fidelity Group chairperson Wahl Bartmann has pledged Fidelity’s full support for the Transnet probe, initiated recently after a complaint by the African Security Congress (ASC), a political party established as a self-appointed pressure group for security guards and security companies.

Bartmann said in a media statement that Fidelity had succeeded in reducing crime by 75% on the strategic North-East Corridor for Transnet Freight Services.

Transnet also confirmed that none of the other security companies working on the tender are being probed alongside Fidelity. The ASC allegations were met with widespread scepticism and even outright suspicion by many in the private security industry, and even sparked calls for ASC commercial connections and financing to be investigated in turn.

“It seems abundantly clear that ASC is itself trying to influence the appointment of service providers or possibly even trying to stop crucial security operations at Transnet by Fidelity and which are absolutely in the public and national interest,” one highly placed source told ProtectionWeb.

ASC could not be reached for comment and telephone calls were not answered.

Despite initiating the internal probe, Transnet has protested its innocence of any impropriety in awarding the contract. According to the entity, the contract has been operational with Fidelity and others since as far back as July 2023.

Asked by ProtectionWeb whether operations by Fidelity ceased whilst the present tender investigation was in progress, Transnet refuted the possibility.

“No, the purpose of Transnet investigations is to establish whether a transaction involved evidence of irregularity. Until such is determined there is no lawful reason to suspend or review a contract for set-aside,” Transnet said in a statement in response to a ProtectionWeb enquiry.

Transnet went on to state it “has not undertaken any investigations of this nature (parallel to the Fidelity probe) on its security service providers” when asked if other security companies it deploys were also being investigated.

Further details on the operational structuring of the Fidelity tender, awarded after an open competitive tender process, and other collaborative operations with Transnet customers were provided on request by Transnet.

Transnet appointed Fidelity as the Outcome Based Security (OBS) on the North-East Corridor in July 2023. The Richards Bay Coal Terminal and Coal Line contracted Fidelity, and through a Mutual Collaboration Agreement with Transnet customers, appointed the security group on a cost-sharing basis from 1 April to 31 July 2024. The contract was extended for three months to October 2024.

Richard Bay Coal Terminal’s security service provider is Linear Management Systems (LMS) which is managing Fidelity to protect the coal line. Transnet does not hold a contract with LMS, Transnet said.

Earlier, Transnet said it was regrettable that the “peddled narrative” in media reports held that it had cancelled a previous tender for the manufacture of a Contact Wire Reflector (CWR) device to free resources to appoint Fidelity.