The Gauteng government is in the process of redefining its foreign policy and is seeking stronger trade ties and closer cooperation with its African neighbours. This will further ensure that the province maintains its “gateway into Africa” status on the continent, said Ismail Vadi, Gauteng MEC for Transport, speaking at the annual general meeting of the Southern Africa Shippers Transport and Logistics Council (SASTALC) last month. “I applaud the spirit of cooperation that is increasingly taking place between industry associations and government on the continent, but we must guard against losing our competitive edge in South Africa,” said Vadi. He believes Gauteng is ideally situated as a trade gateway into Africa but is in “real danger” of losing that advantage to other neighbouring countries who are pushing their own logistics growth agendas. “Gauteng is under-performing. So is South Africa. We are currently not competitive. We need to re-position ourselves as the gateway and we need to ensure that our costs, operations and service levels exceed those of our closest competitors,” commented Vadi.
