Wharfage down, handling up,
writes Leonard Neill
PORTNET WILL reduce wharfage charges but increase its cargo handling levy in a restructuring of the current tariff system to align it with international norms, says chief executive Siyabonga Gama.
It's going to be a tight balancing act, he says. We are looking for what can best be described as a 'revenue-neutral charge' by increasing the cargo handling levy at the same time as we reduce wharfage.
Once the separation of the port operations and port authority is in place in April 2001, wharfage will be accrued to the port authority while cargo handling fees will be recorded in operations accounts, he said.
Wharfage should be based on the utilisation of berths and quays at harbours. The tariff restructuring is a necessity because we handle about 82 million tons of coal annually, using up a good deal of space, while coal's wharfage value is low.
A tariff reform will bring greater transparency in terms of the manner in which port charges are levied in this country, but we don't want the restructuring process to have
a negative impact on Portnet's revenue.
One of the benefits of reducing wharfage charges will be to rid the industry of criminal activities, he said. A major problem has been cargo owners under-declaring the value of their goods in order to pay less wharfage.
With the changes cargo owners will not be required to declare values to us. That criminal element will then disappear and the department of trade and industry will have better export and import figures to work on.
Cargo handling fees are currently between 40% and 50% below international benchmarks and restructuring in this area will be phased in over a three-to-five year period.
Conferences involving all stakeholders are being planned for next month when the new details will be made known.
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