Transnet retains cash cow for now

Amendment to port bill prevents breakaway Leonard Neill THE NATIONAL Ports Authority (NPA) will remain part of Transnet for an interim period and will only be allowed to go it alone as an independent company when Transnet’s finances permit the breakaway. This follows an amendment to the proposed Ports Authority Bill giving Transnet the assurance that NPA will be kept within its fold until the parent company’s financial situation allows the change. This was disclosed at a meeting of Parliament’s public enterprises’ portfolio committee last week, which was addressed by senior members of both Transnet and NPA. Transnet managing director Mafika Mkwanazi had warned that the parastatal would face grave financial consequences should the Bill in its initial form go through Parliament, as NPA was its cash cow. But, he said, the processing of the bill was urgent as it needed to be in place before restructuring could begin, allowing for the concessioning of Durban’s container terminal. NPA chief executive Siyabonga Gama also told the committee that the issue of an independent port regulator needed to be addressed before the Bill could be passed. The proposed regulator, he said, should only be an interim position, with NPA and Transnet working together to ensure there was no conflict of interest. Once the NPA became an independent state-owned enterprise, however, it would assume the full functions of the regulator, he said. This would be in line with the white paper on national commercial ports policy. Gama outlined plans to enlarge and improve all local ports. The committee was told that this would include the expansion and upgrading of container terminals in Durban and Cape Town. Other port improvements will involve the expansion of the coal terminal at Richards Bay.