Public pronouncements from various government entities provide cause for optimism

South Africa’s Blue Economy is sometimes likened to the mythical lost City of Atlantis – a potentially glorious place if only it would show itself. Now the sleeping giant is rising from the depths, albeit slowly, turning fantasy into reality. But will it make it all the way to the surface or sink back into obscurity?

Public pronouncements from various government entities provide cause for optimism. Transnet National Ports Authority this week confirmed finalisation of a R200-million dry-dock upgrade project at the country’s two busiest ports – Durban and Cape Town. The project involves replacement of 37 capstans used to stabilise vessels inside dry-docks. These facilities are fundamental to ship repair and therefore to the broader maritime economy; they provide essential services to passing ships, big and small, and are key to Cape Town’s ambitions of becoming a regional superyacht repair and maintenance facility. 

News of TNPA’s successful project coincides with other positive news from the City of Cape Town, which this week hailed the success of its various Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) set up to bolster key regional economic sectors, among them the blue economy. The SPVs have collectively created around 50 000 jobs and injected around R45billion into the regional economy, the City says, and sizeable portion of these new jobs are in the Western Cape’s burgeoning boatyards in Cape Town, Knysna and Velddrif. 

Investment remains the vital ingredient in a recipe of economic success that could yet turn the fabled ‘Better Life For All’ into a hard-earned reality. 

Government promised to address SA’s port bottleneck crisis within the next 12-14 months. This assurance came from Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni when addressing the issue of South Africa’s lowly container operation ranking in a recent World Bank survey. Ntshavheni believes the new government of national unity will turn South Africa into a ‘construction site’, and much of the activity will be in the port environment. However there’s a caveat to this potential happy ending, particularly in relation to Cape Town Port. If Transnet is so intent on improving its container performance, why is it refusing to consider a private operator for the container terminal? We have 20 years of evidence that the public sector operator is failing. With this overwhelming evidence, surely this is no oversight, and government should explain their rationale. The quickest way to reverse years of mismanagement is to allow the private sector to do what the private sector does best – run an efficient business. Failure to do so inevitably raises questions about who is profiting from the obvious departure from best practice. Who gains from the mess? Who is being paid for preferential treatment? Containers not being inspected by SARS?

Government leaders are compelled by the constitution to do what is in the best interest of our citizens. And it is time for taxpayers to stand up when this is not the case. Minister, please provide a credible rationale for repeating the same and expecting a different outcome

John Lawson
CEO of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry