Port users and port licence holders have until May 26 to submit recommendations and inputs on the country’s ports to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA).
This comes as the 12th annual Port Consultative Committee (PCC) and National Port Consultative Committee (NPCC) kicked off a series of roadshows in the Port of Mossel Bay last week. Roadshows in Saldanha and Cape Town have already taken place, while sessions at other ports, including a roadshow in Johannesburg, will continue over the next two weeks.
The goal of the roadshows was to give port users the opportunity to be part of the competitiveness and decision-making processes of the ports, said Selma Schwartz, head of the PCC and NPCC secretariat at SAMSA.
“At each roadshow an update from the relevant port is provided, while attendees are given an opportunity to voice concerns and challenges they may be facing.”
The process enabled all port users across the port system to comment on port plans and initiatives prior to implementation by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), she said.
The roadshow sessions include updates on the port development framework for each individual port, as well as the port capital programme reflecting plans from 2026 to 2031 in particular.
Port performance, economic activity and volume projections are also shared, along with updates on the oversight regime undertaken by TNPA. Planned dredging maintenance, marine operations and resource utilisation also form part of the discussions.
The Ports Regulator of South Africa is also participating in the sessions, bringing greater clarity to the economic regulatory process that begins in August this year as well as the new tariff methodology currently under review.
The PCC and NPCC are statutory bodies designed to facilitate engagement between port authorities, users and stakeholders. The structures aim to ensure fair access to services, efficient operations and the democratisation of port spaces.
Schwartz urged participants at the roadshows and port users at large to take part in the process and submit inputs by May 26. All comments would be forwarded to TNPA, with meetings scheduled for the first week of July to provide industry with feedback, she said.
