Payment of the services rendered by the appointed appeal advisory team members is calculated by the Department based on the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) hourly fee rates for consultants attached hereto. Advocate Shaheen Moolla’s hourly fee rate is fixed at 2 202 whilst Professor Julian Smith and Ms Mamakhe Mdhluli’s hourly fee rates are fixed at 1943. The total cost for the appointment of the three individuals can only be provided after the FRAP2013 appeals process is concluded, as the Department is invoiced by the individual members of the appeals advisory team based on the number of hours they have worked.
Initially, the Minister appointed all members of the appeals advisory team for a period of two (2) calendar months commencing on 1 June 2015. Prior the initial evaluation and analysis of FRAP 2013 appeals, the Department acknowledged that a number of FRAP 2013 applicants who had lodged appeals have requested access to additional data and information as the information that was originally made available was regarded to be inadequate. In this regard, the DDG committed to make the scoresheets for all other applicants in the fishery concerned through Fishery Control offices along the coast and on Departmental website available to all appellants.
The acting Deputy Director-General: Fisheries Management further made provision for viewing of FRAP 2013 application forms at Foretrust Building, Foreshore, Cape Town during normal working hours. Appellants were therefore afforded a limited period to supplement their appeals lodged for FRAP 2013 by no later 16h00 on Monday, 13 July 2015.
Given the human capital, uploading of PDF version of the scoresheets on Departmental website and dispatching the same to appellants in the oyster, white mussel, squid, hake handline, tuna pole-line, demersal shark and KZN prawn trawl fishing sectors who provided email addresses to the Department took longer than anticipated. Thus, necessitated extension of the initial deadline for the submission of supplementary appeals to Friday, 31 July 2015.
Nothing that the deadline for submission of the supplementary appeals was set to Friday, 31 July 2015, only thereafter the Appeals Advisory Team were legally able to consider and evaluate appeals lodged in the oyster, white mussel, squid, hake handline, tuna pole-line, demersal shark and KZN prawn trawl fishing sectors during the month of August 2015 whilst the appeals lodged in the traditional linefish sector will only be considered and evaluated during the month of September 2015.
Therefore, on the above-mentioned basis, the Minister had to extend the period of the appointment for the Appeals Advisory Team for FRAP 2013 appeals process for the duration of two (2) calendar months commencing on 1 August 2015 ending on 30 September 2015.