Ray Smuts FLAWS IN the National Ports Authority Bill currently before Parliament must be corrected before becoming law, chairman of the Container Liners Operators Forum Captain Dave Rennie told delegates at the 8th National Maritime Conference in Cape Town last week. Rennie pointed to a number of substantial issues the relatively new NPA has had to deal with including restructuring and transformation of the authority, tariff reform, the Port of Coega, marine service inefficiencies, infrastructure development and Maydon Wharf. “They have managed these initiatives with varying degrees of success. One can only hope they have learnt from their mistakes as they are going to come under increasing pressure and scrutiny once transferred out of the Transnet stable and the concessioning roll-out gains momentum. “The continued health of South Africa’s global competitiveness is very much dependent on the NPA making the correct decisions and delivering on its mandate.” As for South African Port Operations, Rennie said the national ports operator promised to “Deliver Value Plus.’ While it may well have achieved this for the shareholder it had however fallen short in delivering to the port user. “Tariffs have rocketed at a rate only surpassed by the extended delays at container terminals. Shipping lines, importers, exporters and in fact the economy at large can no longer tolerate the cost inefficiency at certain of the public terminals.” Rennie does not apportion blame exclusively to Sapo however, saying it has been ‘hampered’ by Spoornet and others in the port system. But it is Sapo’s ‘sluggish reaction’ to deal with problems that has earned the wrath of port users. With concessioning underway starting with the Durban Container Terminal at the end of this year or early next, Rennie says whatever the future of Sapo it could do well to focus its efforts solely on improving efficiency in its terminals to the exclusion of all else. “The maritime industry is at the heart of an export-driven economy like ours. In excess of 90% of trade moves through our port system. It is absolutely imperative that this system operates efficiently if we do not wish to see our global competitiveness eroded. “This is even more important with our currency appreciating as exports are not going to look quite as cheap as before and therefore an unreliable supply chain will not be easily forgiven.” “I believe we can say with certainty today that government is fully aware of the importance of the maritime industry in a global economy. “This awareness is manifesting itself in the promised R55 billion allocated to infrastructure development over the next five years. It is certainly not before time and as an industry we need to do our level best to ensure that the ‘promise’ is turned into ‘performance’ with a particular focus on our port and rail system.”
