Practical action by the private sector in Cape Town to establish reasons for the inefficiencies at the Port of Cape Town has made significant headway, with a report set to be addressed at a special ad hoc meeting of the Port Consultative Committee (PCC) on December 14.
The PCC reports directly to government.
With vessels constantly bypassing Cape Town – and some major lines indicating that they could omit Cape Town altogether – the Exporters’ Club Western Cape (ECWC) spearheaded a campaign to gather information from all stakeholders about the challenges faced at the port.
ECWC, headed up by Terry Gale, with the support of Western Cape Government and the Transnet National Ports Authority, has been in discussions with major carriers since April this year to establish why carriers have been bypassing the port.
This was taken a step further to include importers, exporters, manufacturers, clearing and forwarding agents, transporters and Public Private Partnerships within the port system who were recently invited to submit details of the challenges facing them.
“The response was phenomenal,” said Gale. “This provides an excellent snapshot of what is happening - and if not addressed as a matter of urgency, the port will grind to a halt, which is in nobody’s interest,” he added.
All the information obtained is confidential, which is why Gale believes industry was so forthcoming about their concerns.
If the PCC accepts the report and supporting documentation, this will then be submitted to the ministers of transport and public enterprises, Fikile Mbalula and Pravin Gordhan respectively, for their consideration.
