Lack of continuity a serious concern

A new transport minister is

hardly going to change the

fate of an industry under

pressure – especially if he

knows nothing about the

portfolio.

This was the consensus

among business owners

and economists contacted

by FTW shortly after news

broke that former teacher

and sports administrator

Joe Maswanganyi had

been appointed as the new

minister of

transport

following a

decision by

President

Jacob Zuma

to reshuff le

his cabinet

last week.

“He

is just a

political

figurehead,”

said Kevin

Martin,

transporter

and

member

of the

Durban Harbour Carriers’

Association (DHCA).

“Transport has been in

trouble for a long time.”

He said the industry,

which continued to see

costs escalating, had

been under pressure for

years now thanks to the

introduction of ‘ludicrous’

schemes and policies,

increased

taxes and

levies.

Economist

Mike

Schüssler

agreed,

saying the

trucking

industry

had been

in trouble

for several

years now,

with many

businesses

having closed

down.

“The political game

playing is going to hit the

industry hard – as it will

the entire South African

economy. Investors do not

like instability,” he said.

In the bigger picture,

however, the impact of the

minister of transport is

questionable, in his view.

“I am not quite sure what

more damage can be done.”

Schüssler said all the

negotiation and lobbying

that had started to show

some results with Minister

Dipuo Peters was now,

however, lost.

“It all starts from scratch.

All of the work done in the

past few years is simply

lost and for the lobbying

organisations this comes

at a high price as most of

these are non-profits,” he

said.

The Johannesburg

Chamber of Commerce

and Industry’s Pat Corbin

said industry had had very

limited interaction with

Peters which had been

seriously concerning.

“This led to legislation

and proposed legislation

that was just ludicrous,” he

said. “The entire situation

politically is a mess and the

government at large is not

performing.”

Martin said the

industry could benefit

from a minister who

understood transport and

its complexity – but it was

clear this was not a priority

in South Africa.

“If our industry stands

any chance we need to

have some stability,”

he said, adding that

the transport industry

had become used to the

consistent change – with

a new transport minister

every few years.

“They change ministers

like people change socks.

Hopefully the new minister

will leave the people

running the departments

in place as they have

a somewhat better

understanding of what is

going on.”

INSERT AND CAPTION

They change ministers

like people change

socks. Hopefully

the new minister

will leave the

people running the

departments in place.

– Kevin Martin