President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet have stepped in to address issues of corruption, inefficiencies and staffing at the Port of Durban saying Transnet executives will be summonsed to regular monthly meetings and be held accountable for port operations following a slew of complaints from the transport industry. Minister of public enterprises Pravin Gordhan will also visit the port city to speak to business leaders within the next ten days to get to grips with the challenges facing the parastatal and impacting truckers and shipping lines. Ramaphosa and his ministers made the commitment at an exclusive Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) business meeting where captains of industry raised their grievances with the president and a raft of government ministers who were present, regarding the ongoing inefficiencies that have caused massive delays and congestion in the port over the past five years. The presidential meeting covered a wide range of business concerns from crime to port inefficiencies and the plight of the ailing sugar industry. A representative of MSC Shipping, Rosario Sarno, described the delays in the port on the landside and the waterside as “critical”. “The waiting time outside the port for vessels is around five to seven days and the waiting time for trucks outside the terminal is between 14 and 18 hours so it’s a disastrous situation,” Sarno said. Another problem, he added, was that Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) had management staff in “acting” positions and “everyone is scared to take decisions”. “We need a real operational person to drive the terminal and the railways. Unfortunately we are in a very critical state and we need someone who is focused and an expert for the position,” he said. Sarno said productivity had declined from around 24 moves per gantry per hour five years ago to between 16 to 17. “To get out of the current crisis we need to put it up to 21 moves per hour.” Durban Harbour Carriers’ Association (DHCA) chairperson Sue Moodley said truckers were not being serviced on time and on bad days waiting times for truckers rose to 18 and even 36 hours. “We have more equipment on the water side than on the landside and as a result trucks will always be standing and not be served so imports and exports are hugely affected.” She later told FTW that the industry had calculated that the average economic loss to the economy due to congestion was around R6 million on an average day and R10 million on a bad day. She said that just 70% of port equipment was currently being utilised. Sappi manufacturing and technical vice president Patrick Mcgrady said the firm was one of the biggest exporters using the container terminal, exporting around 750 units per week. He said the firm had committed to a R7.5 billion expansion project in the province and would increase its manufacturing output by 100 000 tonnes . “Clearly, if the port is not operating efficiently, we have major problems,” McGrady said. Growth coalition co-chairperson Moses Tembe suggested that Transnet’s head office should be moved to KwaZuluNatal, a suggestion Ramaphosa welcomed. “The two biggest ports are in KZN. It is just an abnormality to have a head office sitting in Jo’burg,” Tembe said. Ramaphosa responded to the complaints saying he would personally hold Transnet executives accountable. “I couldn’t agree more that the port head office come to KZN,” he said. “The suspensions and acting positions must be addressed so we reposition Transnet. I will be keeping a close eye on that,” Ramaphosa said. Ramaphosa said he wanted Transnet’s executives to attend a monthly meeting with him “so they can come and explain why the port here is operating in such a poor manner”. Minister of Trade and Industry Ebrahim Patel told business leaders that he had texted Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, who was abroad at the time of the meeting, and he had agreed to meet with business leaders. “He has committed to coming down to Durban in the next working days to meet with chamber members to speak specifically around the challenges and problems with the port and issues around Transnet,” Patel said.
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The average economic loss to the economy due to congestion is around R6 million on an average day and R10 million on a bad day. – Sue Moodley