Latest port policy draft heeds industry input

Privatisation doors should open in 18 months Alan Peat THE DRAFT of the White Paper on the National Commercial Ports Policy has met with solid approval from the country's combined chambers of commerce, according to Peggy Drodskie, policy director of the SA Federated Chambers of Commerce (Safcoc) - the unified Sacob and Nafcoc bodies. "We were very chuffed," she said colloquially, commenting on the Safcoc reaction to this second draft. "We went through the draft - incorporating the comments from the parliamentary portfolio committee - and compared them to our own submissions. "It is very heartening. They have incorporated all our comments into the new document." The second draft is also allowing Safcoc to make further submissions on certain other points that it feels could still be refined. A primary comment relates to the bodies which will be in charge of ports policy, both in the interim and final phases. "We are going to make a few minor recommendations," said Drodskie. "One is that we feel that these bodies looking after the ports should be advisory bodies more than just talk shops. They should have stakeholders as members - government, labour and the private sector is what we are recommending - and have a strong say in how the ports are run. "Our second section of recommendations will be on the legislation which will come up after the policy has been finalised by government." At that stage, according to Safcoc thinking, a strategy and implementation programme should be created. This, for example, should include detail of the numbers on the boards and the method of election/selection. "But there is still room for discussion on how all this should be drafted to give effect to the policy," said Drodskie, " She recommends that once this final draft and the various recommendations are approved by the inter-departmental committee (representing Transport, Trade & Industry and Public Enterprises) and the cabinet it should become policy. "But this then needs to be converted into a document with guidelines on each of the principles. It should detail the strategy and the time lines, the principles we need to introduce to refine the tender process which will eventually lead to privatisation of port functions. "Only after that should we go on to drawing up the legislation and regulation that will be necessary to effect the way we want to go." While Drodskie expects the "policy" to be approved by parliament by late February/early March, the rather complex and technical follow-up procedure will take about a year to go through. But she expects the doors to port privatisation to be ready to open in about 18-months.