It remains anyone’s guess whether Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) will get its requested 4.21% increase with the Ports Regulator of South Africa (PRSA) remaining mum on the issue.
Having just completed a country-wide roadshow to allow for input from port users on the annual TNPA tariff increase application, the Regulator said the record of decision would be published by the end of November at the earliest. Mahesh Fakir, CEO of the Ports Regulator of South Africa, told stakeholders in Cape Town that TNPA had proposed a weighted average tariff increase of 4.21% for 2019/20 made up of a tariff increase of 8% on marine charges and 2.74% increase cargo dues.
Calling on stakeholders and port users to continue to engage with his office, he said comments would be accepted until October 12. Possibly Fakir’s last tariff determination (his contract concludes in 2019), he said port users had saved over R6 billion the past few years due to the PRSA tariff increase decisions, while at the same time the port system had been sustained financially. According to Chris Lötter, head of economic regulation at the PRSA, with the process still ongoing it was too early to say if TNPA would get the requested 4.21% but said the Regulator had maintained a below-inflation increase for the port authority for several years.
“We are now in the second year of the multi-year tariff methodology that comes to an end next year. Work has already started on reviewing the methodology used to determine the tariff and industry views and input on this issue are welcomed.” He said on average TNPA tariffs had only increased by about 1.6% per annum over the past eight years.
