The Department of Transport has dismissed criticism levelled at the so-called slow progress of amending the Merchant Shipping Act (MSA) of 1951, describing it as “the private sector’s inability to properly grasp the procedures of drafting new legislation”. Reacting to an earlier article about the MSA and last year’s Draft Merchant Shipping Bill in particular, deputy director general of marine transport at the Department of Transport, Dumisani Ntuli, said it was important to understand that “it’s a long and complicated process” that has to be followed. Ntuli was reacting to comments by Malcolm Hartwell, director at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, that the MSA was an outdated piece of legislation that was out of step with current shipping trends. Yet Ntuli said that was exactly one of the reasons why it was taking so long to amend it. “A lot has happened and we have signed a lot of treaties in an attempt to comply with general shipping. “These treaties are helping us to be informed in the direction we are taking to overhaul the MSA and because it’s part of the process it also takes time.” As for Hartwell’s criticism that so much has
been cut out of the MSA and moved to other pieces of legislation, in effect making it “unrecognisable”, Ntuli said it had to be understood that “we have had to make a lot of piecemeal amendments to accommodate the fundamental restructuring of our shipping industry”. Ntuli also said that ultimately legislators were dutybound to “strike a balancing act in regulating domestic shipping whilst meeting international demands. “When eventually we’re done with updating the MSA it needs to serve two purposes: create a mechanism for agreement with international shipping and also align the act with government’s comprehensive maritime transport policy. “In keeping with the policy’s specifications, it’s imperative to make sure that by the time the MSA is updated, we have an act that comprehensively speaks to the letter and law of what’s expected from effectively governing shipping within and outside South Africa’s borders.” Ntuli dismissed accusations that crucial parts of draft
regulations had been omitted from last year’s bill and that without these regulations it could never become an act. “The regulations needed for the amendments to be passed into law are all part of the bill. Parliament is very strict about it. It won’t allow us to publish draft bills if they lack the necessary regulations. “The regulations referred to are ones that can be added once the bill has been signed off by the relevant directors general (DGs).” At the time of writing, Ntuli said that the bill was with the relevant DG cluster and that provided it passed last Thursday’s reviewing process, it would probably be signed off soon. “We are doing whatever we can to update the MSA. We have done socio-economic impact assessments. We have met with state law advisers and sought intensive input from private sector interests. “Consequently we have no doubt that the bill in question will soon become law.”
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We have no doubt that the bill in question will soon be passed into law. – Dumisani Ntuli
