DTI's Ruiters slams port inefficiency

... and reveals 'revolutionary' new thinking, writes Leonard Neill SOUTH AFRICA'S ports policy needs to be addressed urgently and implementation must be speeded up to assist in the economic development of the country, says Alistair Ruiters, director-general of the Department of Trade and Industry. To blame congestion for the holdups in the main harbours is not the answer, he told a business breakfast organised by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry last week. "Right now it is downright inefficiency that is causing. the delays. The time taken to get goods moving in and out of the ports here as opposed to places like Singapore, for instance, is like chalk and cheese. It has to be changed. "We at DTI are riding on the backs of those concerned to get the new policies in place without further delay. It is imperative to get this underway. It will make our industrial sector more competitive internationally and that is our target." Ruiters alluded to the new car terminal in East London to illustrate his point. "The cost of a car exported from East London becomes lower because of this type of facility. Speeding up services results in costs being reduced and in that way we can help boost the economy." He said changes at all levels of civil service were essential and were being addressed at present. "I have found quite clearly that you can't force change. Staff generally view suggestions of change as a criticism of their own ability. So you have to go about it in a different manner, and that is what we are about at DTI. "Last year I discovered there were a mere 69 people in a workforce of more than 1 000 in our department who were directly concerned with the dispersal of our budget. So I set out to find what the others were doing, and I found 140 employed as policy workers yet we hadn't developed a policy in years! "We need to be seen not as a public service entity but as a provider of services and information. Frankly, we need to know where we are going and how to get there. We welcome constructive arguments and suggestions." Ruiters said that behind the scenes at DTI there was a revolution in thinking and planning in progress. "The results may not always be apparent on the outside, but we are developing new industrial strategies, and getting a more sophisticated understanding of our customers. "We have split our entire operation into four divisions and each is aimed at working with the public sector. We have trained our switchboard operators, for instance, to stop simply saying 'hello' and to be positive when they ask 'how can I help you?' I have even renamed them the ministers of first impressions! "We are working hard at improving our e-commerce capabilities. Four years ago it took 40 days to register a company. Today it takes no more than 14 and we want to see that come down to 24 hours. "At the same time I want to call on private sector companies to stop mergers. Instead get into competition with others. That is healthier all around. And don't bank on cheap labour. It doesn't work in the long run. Instead employ skilled labour. Pay attention to innovation and enhance your knowledge of the business you are in. In the end we will all benefit from this type of approach."