Sub-Saharan potential in improved logistics and cross-border trade should be prioritised through the formation of a permanent Transport Council for the region, President Cyril Ramaphosa told delegates at South Africa’s inaugural National Transport Conference.
Opening the conference at Gallagher Estate in Midrand on Monday, Ramaphosa said the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Lobito Corridor connecting Angola with Copperbelt countries provided impetus for what could be achieved by SADC member countries.
“A modern, efficient and inclusive transport system will, without any doubt, lower the cost of doing business,” he said.
“It will attract investment, create jobs and improve household incomes. If we want to grow our economies, we should build roads and improve our transport systems.”
With freight industry delegates from several member countries attending the conference – Mozambique, Tanzania, Lesotho, Namibia and Botswana – it was a good opportunity to link up around logistics and supply chain collaboration, Ramaphosa said.
Working towards shared goals, he said, “will strengthen regional integration and make our economy more competitive”.
Ramaphosa stressed that such intra-regional collaboration, especially in light of the projected trade growth through AfCFTA and the Lobito Corridor, could boost shared economic interests across the region.
But to do that, he said, a permanent Transport Council should be formed.
The council’s objective, Ramaphosa added, should be to concentrate on the most important developments necessary for enhanced cross-border logistics.
He said criticism at forming yet another council to address economic development hindrances should be seen against the success achieved through the Energy Council that South Africa launched in 2021, a CEO-led initiative to tackle energy sector challenges, including load-shedding.
A Transport Council, Ramaphosa said, would bring together government, the private sector and all passenger and logistic service providers across the country, across land, sea and air transport.
Stabilising the sub-Saharan transport sector of South Africa and its neighbours through the formation of such a council, Ramaphosa said, was a concept he hoped would be discussed during the conference.
Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy said she would commit herself to seeing that such discussions took place during the three-day conference ending on March 18.
