It’s business as usual as industry assesses new cabinet

The recent political upheaval – new president Kgalema Motlanthe and a major cabinet reshuffle – has caused little concern in the freight and transport industries, according to a number of stakeholders. Although there have been some recent hints to FTW of pre-election paralysis slowing down the passage of certain parliamentary legislation, there seems to be little worry about any freight or transport industry policy delays caused by the latest switches in cabinet. Looking for some personal opinions on just how meaningful and possibly disruptive this latest political turmoil would be, FTW quizzed some parties who are players in various sectors of the freight/transport industries. Tony Norton, director of lawyers Garlicke & Bousfield, and maritime legal adviser to the SA shipping industry, is positive. “It’s a holding cabinet, and should maintain investor confidence in the short-term,” he told FTW. And reading the governement mood of the moment, Norton expects most of the new people appointed to cabinet posts to become permanent cabinet members. Also there is little likely disruption in the powers-that-be related to the transport industry. “To the extent that (Jeff) Radebe is still the minister of transport, there should be no change in the flow of policy in that department.” Norton said, referring predominantly to the maritime policy draft. Alec Erwin’s departure from the cabinet should also not have any effect on policy flow. According to Norton, the parliamentary transport portfolion committee – headed by Jeremy Cronin – has been instrumental in the creation of most of the recent policy. “They have set the policies,” he said, “and are the ones pushing the legislation through.” Also, the main player in the SA transport industry, Maria Ramos, CEO of Transnet, is still under contract – so there should be no shift in that organisation’s direction. There is also likely to be no major impact on policy related to the SA automotive industry, according to Norman Lamprecht, executive manager of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa). “I have just attended a department of trade and industry forum meeting,” he told FTW. “They stressed that there had been no changes at the department, and business would go on as usual, according to the department’s director-general.” Anyway, he added, from the automotive point-of-view, the main policy item – the motor industry development programme (MIDP) – has been decided. All that remains is that a list of details have to be thrashed out. “But it’s still the same people who are handling it,” Lamprecht said,” so little change is expected. “I don’t think that any issues will remain outstanding, as the automotive industry is one of the four critical sectors identified for fast-tracking.” According to Andrew Robinson, maritime specialist at lawyers Deneys Reitz, and chairman of the Maritime Law Association (MLA), the cabinet reshuffle was anticipated anyway. “What we expected to happen next year has already taken place, and I think that the new incumbents will remain there after the elections. Anyway, Robinson added, it’s not the politicians that really do the work on policy. It’s the bureaucracy, and it has remained unchanged. “The big issue related to the maritime policy draft,” he said, “is still the end of October, when the stakeholders’ comments are to be included in the draft. But it’s the bureaucracy that’s handling it – and they have been doing very well up to now. The nucleus is there, and it will remain so.” Robinson also saw another encouraging factor. “The SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) – the guiding body behind the policy – has now got the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) involved from a funding point-of-view. And that’s a good thing, because you can’t have policy without the money to back it up.”