By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa proposed the establishment of a national logistics crisis committee to address the ailing performance of South Africa’s ports and rail.
Ramaphosa hosted the virtual meeting with executives from key exporting economic sectors such as mining and minerals, the agricultural and forestry sectors and as well as the automotive and freight forwarding industry.
The sectors represent South Africa’s largest exporters who are reliant on the country’s road, rail and port infrastructure.
Ramaphosa welcomed the proposals presented during the meeting, which aim to improve South Africa’s national rail and ports.
“We need to take urgent measures to resolve the logistics backlog that continues to undermine economic growth. I deeply appreciate the constructive manner in which all the impacted sectors have approached the resolution of this crisis. Government will consider some of the proposals presented and act on them quickly in order to unlock much-needed investments into the economy,” said Ramaphosa.
The interaction with large exporters follows a meeting the President held with members of the Transnet board and executive management at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, on 28 March 2023, which discussed challenges facing the country’s logistics system, including the declining performance of the freight rail network.
Ramaphosa directed Transnet to implement reforms wholly and swiftly to reverse the crisis in South Africa’s logistics system.
Over the coming weeks, government said it will consider and announce a set of measures that will add impetus to the work that is currently underway to improve rail and port efficiencies.
According to the President’s Office, this will be in line with the government policy direction for the freight transport sector in the White Paper on National Rail Policy and in legislation such as the National Ports Act and the Economic Regulation of Transport Bill that is currently before Parliament.
This will include the formation of a crisis committee, which the presidency confirmed that Ramaphosa is considering it.
The crisis committee housed in the president’s office will enable a more coordinated approach across ministries that impact the logistics supply chain.
Juanita Maree, CEO of the South African Association of Freight Forwarders, said the meeting was positive and allowed business to speak from their experience with the logistics network.
“The president has a very deep understanding of what he has to deal with, Maree said, noting that he acknowledged the importance of the private sector and its critical contribution to the economy.
Maree said South Africa is already 21 days away from the major markets. She said that if the supply chain is not kept intact and it takes even more days to reach these markets, it will become a significant problem for time-sensitive cargo.