Consortium confident of success with labour

Leonard Neill "THE TASK of finding suitable solutions to the problems which exist in Durban harbour is a challenging one, but I am perfectly satisfied the consortium which we have established will meet these in our eight month probe," says John McPherson, principal chief economist of the Canadian company CPCS Transcom which will head the consortium. They will be assisted by The Cornell Group, a US firm which specialises in introducing private sector participation in port operations, Dynamar Consultancy, a leading shipping and port consulting firm based in Holland, with close association and involvement of the Shipping and Transport College of Rotterdam, Expeditor Management Services, a South African BEE consulting firm with wide experience in ports and transport sectors, and Phathani Consulting, a BEE human resources development consulting firm. "Working with the labour force is one of the chief objectives in our investigations," said McPherson. "I appreciate we have to deal with the labour unions, but that can be done successfully if properly handled. CPCS Transcom has served as lead technical and financial adviser for port restructuring activities in Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, Benin and Sierra Leone. Outside of Africa it has also undertaken port restructuring assignments in Bangladesh and the Maldives. The consortium, says McPherson, has access to a panel of international experts who will be available to advise the DPE and the South African government on issues and trade-offs that arise.