Corruption in the Port of Durban came under scrutiny when stakeholders met with President Cyril Ramaphosa and Department of Trade and Industry (dti) minister Ebrahim Patel last Thursday. Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) spokesman Molatwane Likhethe said it was unfortunate that these allegations had been raised during the presidential meeting. “It is regrettable that they were raised for the first time through such a forum, particularly when there are formal engagement structures in place such as the DCCI Durban Port Committee, which the Port of Durban is a member of,” Likhethe said. TPT encouraged all parties to use the Transnet Fraud Line to report any misconduct in relation to corruption in the port, he added. “We also have two police stations, Maydon Wharf and Ocean Terminal within the port, which can be used by the public to report any acts or allegations of corruption in the Port of Durban,” Likhethe said. He added that the issue of declaration of goods was a Sars Customs issue, which should be redirected to the taxman. Patel said that the government was also tackling issues of corruption and unethical behaviour in the port. “We have been looking at the prices of landed goods. The landed price of women’s pyjamas was ten cents per unit and the landed price of men’s suits R7.97 – you can’t buy the buttons for R7.97, so there is collusion.” He said Sars had already raided a number of warehouses and was moving to deal with corruption embedded in the port.
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Government is tackling issues of corruption and unethical behaviour in the port. – Ebrahim Patel