SA port efficiency comes under fire at intermodal indaba

RAY SMUTS
PUBLIC ENTERPRISES minister Jeff Radebe last week called on port authorities to eliminate the inefficiencies at the country’s ports.
Delivering the keynote address to the National Ports Authority-hosted 2nd Intermodal Africa 2004 conference in Cape Town, Radebe told 240 delegates that exporters, consumers and indeed South Africa’s neighbours were bearing the brunt of inefficiencies, adding to the direct cost of goods.
Tau Morwe, chief executive officer of South African Port Operations (Sapo), listed efficiency as one of the top of seven ‘drivers’ for choosing a port of call.
And efficiency was once again an issue when Barry New, MD of P&O Nedlloyd South Africa spoke on the impact and implications of trade growth in South Africa, saying: “Capacity and handling efficiency in South African ports continues below the standards being set by other recognised major ports around the world.”
Turning to ports’ concessioning, and the imminent invitation for private sector participation in certain port operations including the Durban container terminal, Radebe said: “In reaching our decisions we have taken into account African experiences and engaged organised labour thoroughly to ensure that the policies affecting ports in our national transport policy white paper are implemented.”
Referring to transport costs, Radebe said excessive transport costs were much more of a restrictive barrier to trade than the tariff regimes in major markets such as the European Union, the US or Japan.
Excessive transport costs inflated consumer prices on imported goods and they “bounce any exports from these (African) countries right out of the competitive international market.”
In 2001, for instance, the total freight costs of developing countries in Africa as a proportion of import value were 12,5%, considerably higher than the average of 8,7% for other developing countries. “It is more than double the percentage for market economy countries and the world average.”
On the controversial issue of border post delays ranging from 36 hours between Zambia and Zimbabwe and four hours between Botswana and South Africa, Radebe said the cost to the region was about $48 million a year.