Let the Western Cape government fix what the ANC has broken
SA is an extraordinary country with a constitution of which we are all rightly proud. At its core, our constitution guarantees the right of each of us to freely express who we would like to represent us as our public representatives. On May 29 millions of South Africans will have the right to vote in national and provincial elections.
Though we all celebrate these fundamental freedoms, in the past 30 years the ANC has become adept at wrecking things. The energy system, rail network, policing, Post Office and social grant system, to name but a few, have all fallen victim to the incompetence of the ANC-led national government. We can now add SA’s ports and harbours to this growing list. It is the Midas touch in reverse: everything the ANC touches turns to ruin.
The Port of Cape Town should be an engine of the Western Cape and SA’s economy. Instead, it has been scuppered by national government’s incompetence, dragging our prospects for further growing the economy and creating more jobs down yet further.
The port is the gateway for our agribusinesses and manufacturers to get their products to international markets and for essential products to get to small and large businesses to allow them to successfully run their businesses.
It is not only Western Cape farmers and businesses who rely heavily on this critical logistics hub. More than 55% of the entire country’s primary agricultural products are exported through Cape Town. It should be a national asset, but it has become the opposite. Chronic failures at the port are standing in the way of job creation for the residents of the Western Cape and SA.
Over December and January, at the height of the Western Cape’s table grape and stone fruit harvesting season, there were delays of up to three weeks getting cargo onto ships at the port. This meant fruit had to spend extended periods in cold storage, which exponentially increased the risk of it not meeting international standards.
Among the reasons for this disastrous dysfunction is insufficient investment in infrastructure such as the cranes used to move containers and rubber-tyred gantries, which have consistently broken down. There seems to be a concerning lack of expertise in how to operate and maintain this crucial equipment. Even when all the gantries are working, there simply are not enough for a port that size.
Add to these issues staff shortages and a lack of political will to take decisive action, and you have the perfect storm of dysfunction, costing us billions in trade and lost opportunities. And the world is noticing: international shipping lines are avoiding Cape Town harbour, bypassing it altogether. Transnet, which has been run into the ground by the ANCled national government, has consistently failed to return the port to the efficient logistics tool it once was.
The reality is that Transnet has been hollowed out by corruption, ineptitude and mismanagement. But where the ANC fails, the DA strives to give hope. The Western Cape government has introduced the Provincial Powers Bill to allow us to fix what the ANC has broken. We are demanding that more powers are devolved to a competent provincial government, including being given authority over the Port of Cape Town.
THERE IS NO REASON THAT THE PORT OF CAPE TOWN CANNOT BE FIXED
We have been steadily laying the groundwork to get the port up to speed. Our annual port stakeholder engagements, involving Transnet, allow for robust and constructive discussions. If the management of the port is devolved to the provincial government, we will ensure that it gets the necessary private sector investment and technical expertise to realise its full potential.
A well-functioning port will be a catalyst for growth. According to research commissioned by the Western Cape department of economic development & tourism, the positive effect on job creation of an optimally functioning port in Cape Town would be immense, increasing exports by at least R6bn, creating about 20,000 new direct and indirect jobs, generating more than R1.6bn in additional taxes, and an additional 0.7% contribution to the Western Cape GDP by 2026. There is no reason that the Port of Cape Town cannot be fixed by competent and innovative management through sufficient investment. This is not rocket science.
The port is such a major issue for us because the DA is obsessed with job creation that gives our residents dignity and worth. We are committed to removing all obstacles that stop us growing the economy and enabling more jobs, which is why we are calling for the devolution of the authority over the Port of Cape Town to the DA-led provincial government.
We will fix what has been broken — we owe it to the people of the Western Cape and SA.