‘Government cost cutting a threat to Cape Town Port operations’  -- BMA

The Border Management Authority says government cost cutting is putting pressure on its operations at the Port of Cape Town due to staff shortages. 

However contingency plans have to date prevented any direct impact on Port operations.  

“We might have to review the number of officials that we avail to attend to either vessels or inspections after hours,” a senior BMA official told the monthly Cape Town Port Liaison Forum last week.

“Business will still continue but we might have to request some clients to reschedule inspections. The issue is currently receiving attention, and we are hoping it will be resolved soon,” he said.  

“Obviously it will have an effect on operations because it means we must prioritise vessels that cannot wait for our inspections, ie bulk vessels over containerised inspections.” 

The BMA was currently managing its Cape Town Port duties with help from its Johannesburg office and overtime shifts.  

“I don't think that business will really be affected at the moment at Cape Town harbour as long as we still get that support where officials are deployed to assist -- and where there is overtime. We have been asked to cut to the bone and only attend to critical after-hours requests.” 

“When the BMA was established, the understanding was that it would be funded accordingly, but it is obviously not funded adequately. It makes our lives very difficult,” the official said. 

The latest World Bank Port barometer for 2023/24 saw the Port of Cape Town become the world’s most improved port by improving its CPPI (Container Port Performance Index) by nearly 240 points between 2023 and 2024.  However, the Port is still languishing near the bottom of the rankings table, with Durban bringing up the rear. 

Although Cape Town Port operations are reportedly unaffected, it remains to be seen whether the current measures will be sufficient to handle peak season.