Port reform expert issues job loss warning

SA can learn from global mistakes Terry Hutson SOUTH AFRICA must find a South African solution to its port reform and privatisation programme and not look elsewhere, says the Hon. Doug Young, former Federal Minister of Transport for Canada. He was speaking at a workshop on port reform, hosted by the Department of Public Enterprises in Durban last week. “Your solution has to take into account the high level of unemployment in South Africa and it must therefore not cost jobs,” he said to the obvious approval of trade unionists present. Young said South Africa could nevertheless learn from the experience of others, so long as it dug deep enough and found out what really happened instead of simply listening to what it was told. “There are many examples around the world to learn from, especially from those making mistakes. For instance the UK experience with Railtrack where the railway was fragmented is one example of what should not be done.” Asked whether there were any guarantees that infrastructural investment would follow privatisation, Young said that market forces always decided investment levels. “Otherwise ship owners will simply take their business elsewhere,” he said. Pamy Arora, vice president of the Cornell Group advising several countries on port restructuring, said the experience of Indian ports showed that international funding was available but only if accompanied by port reform. Several people attending commented on the absence from the workshop of the Department of Transport.