‘Gauteng could lose logistics lead’

Gauteng’s goal of being the premium transport hub in southern Africa could be scuppered if major logistics challenges such as infrastructure, skills shortages and the proposed new Customs Act are not urgently addressed, says Sue Wood, operations director of CargoCare Freight Services. ”Gauteng as the industrial hub of the country could, with the necessary political will and government investment, be well on the way to being the premium transport hub in southern Africa. It would seem however that despite the potentially favourable location, that nearly everything else around Johannesburg is conspiring to depress the economy further than it is already,” she says. Wood contends for example that if Johannesburg’s City Deep loses its status as an inland port “due to a select few words being omitted to describe a legal destination”, there is no doubt that South Africa’s neighbours, Namibia and Mozambique, will be ready to step into the breach. She also suggests that simple steps can be taken to address infrastructure issues, such as surveillance and corrective action to prevent copper cable theft and ensure more operational traffic lights and main road lighting. “The tantalising question of how these challenges should be addressed, and by whom, is simple. Government should start thinking about business as partners in the economy,” said Wood, adding that the planned aerotropolis for the region will not be the promised “magic bullet” by the end of the decade if Gauteng has been overtaken in its quest to be the gateway to Africa. INSERT & CAPTION Government should start thinking about business as partners in the economy. – Sue Wood