Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy could add insult to injury by excluding the Port of Cape Town (PoCT) from a Request For Information (RFI) that will be issued in March.
The RFI is to test private sector appetite for partnerships on hamstrung ports and freight rail lines in South Africa.
This comes after state-owned port and rail authority Transnet confirmed in January that it would open up the ports of Durban, Richards Bay, and Ngqura for urgent private sector participation, but that the PoCT was not part of the plan.
Cape Town calls on Creecy
With the RFI set to be released before the end of the month, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has called on Creecy to include the PoCT in the important document.
The port is ranked as one of the worst in the world and is in dire need of private sector participation.
“We are encouraged that national government will this month test private sector appetite for partnerships on ports and freight rail. This is long overdue, especially for the Port of Cape Town, which is ranked among the worst in the world,” said Hill-Lewis.
“We call on the Minister to ensure that Cape Town’s port is included in the Request For Information process. The RFI needs to be designed to encourage private sector proposals to co-run Cape Town’s port and enable major infrastructure investment.”
He highlighted that government alone doesn’t have the money to properly invest in the PoCT’s infrastructure, and that it can’t raise these funds without the unaffordable taxing of South Africans.
“While some new and replacement cranes are apparently on the way for Cape Town’s port, this is a drop in the ocean compared to the robust private sector investment and operational control needed to lift our port’s performance to compete with the best in the world,” said Hill-Lewis.
“An efficient port will raise exports of locally produced products and drive job creation in these industries, especially in our vital agricultural sector. We need a clear and urgent deadline for greater private sector involvement in Cape Town’s port operations, and we will be watching this RFI process closely.”
Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos, recently engaged business leaders in the fresh produce supply chain who revealed there was a 20% drop in exports of fruits such as grapes in the current period due to the PoCT’s problems.
Further to the point, the global average for gross crane moves per hour (GCH) is between 25 and 30.
According to the South African Association of Freight Forwarders, the Cape Town Container Terminal averages at about 13 GCH.
“This creates significant ripple effects for all businesses and employees in the supply chain,” said Vos.
“With this port handling 80% of deciduous fruit exports each season (from December to April), it is absolutely vital – and urgent – for our economy that this port improves operational conditions.”
Research from the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism shows that private sector participation at the PoCT could result in an additional R6 billion in exports, the creation of approximately 20,000 jobs, and over R1.6 billion in additional tax revenues within five years.
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