What would a Jacob Zuma presidency mean for the freight and transport industries?

WITH RECENT talk in the press indicating that the public is softening to the idea of a Jacob Zuma presidency, it looks more-and-more likely that SA will next year have a new president and a new government. What will this mean for the trade, freight and transport industries? Very much a case of “waitand- see”, according to Andrew Robinson, director of lawyers Deneys Reitz, and chairman of the Maritime Law Association (MLA) sub-committee for road, rail, air and sea legislation. However, he added, it is to be hoped that the new government’s policy will be more aligned to passing updated maritime legislation than the present government’s “rather hesitant” attitude. “SA has never had a clearly defined indigenous maritime policy,” he told FTW, “and it has been left up to the MLA to keep the country up to date by passing legislation such as the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, the Wreck and Salvage Act, amendments to the limitation provisions in the Merchant Shipping Act, the Sea Documents Act and so on. “This legislation could not have been possible were it not for government support, but there is currently a terrible back-log – and no new legislation, or legislative amendments, have seen the light of day for years.” About four years ago there was an effort made by the SA Maritime Safety Association (Samsa) and the Department of Transport (DoT) to develop a maritime policy, Robinson added. “But,” he said, “while the process was out-sourced and a great deal of effort has gone into the drafting of a policy document, it has probably not received sufficient attention from those actually involved in the maritime industry.” Although there has been “a fairly incoherent policy” aimed at the development of a local shipping register along the lines developed in Dubai and Singapore, Robinson added, the legislative structure is not in place yet and there does not seem to be any real strategy from government. “In my view,” he told FTW, “this grand plan will only succeed if driven hard at cabinet level, with the various organs of state (DoT, Treasury, Samsa) working together toward a clearlydefined and common goal.” But the current administration has not shown that this is one of its strengths, and Robinson hoped that a new government might see a change in attitude. “However, the development of a maritime policy, unfortunately, does not seem to be an issue of great importance at the moment,” he said. “This is a pity, given that this country survives on being able to export, by sea, its valuable mineral resources and to import manufactured goods for the majority of the southern African countries.” “The experience of Dubai and Singapore is that any radical new policy must be driven at the highest level by free thinking individuals backed up by the organs of state. “In this regard, the efforts of this government have been very disappointing - especially since 2000. Hopefully we will see a change over the next few years.”