Sea what’s out there
The private sector has not taken full advantage of opportunities presented by government’s focus on the ocean economy under Operation Phakisa, says the outgoing CEO of the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), Tsietsi Mokhele.
Among other targets, Operation Phakisa aims to unlock economic opportunities from SA’s oceans, estimated to have the potential to contribute R177bn to GDP by 2033, up from R54bn in 2010.
The operation aims to fasttrack goals laid out in the National Development Plan.
The sectors that government hopes to develop include marine transport and manufacturing, offshore oil and gas exploration and aquaculture.
Mokhele, who helped develop the maritime strategy under Operation Phakisa, says he is leaving the organisation because he’d like to see the private sector take better advantage of commercialisation and industrialisation opportunities. This is a role he could not adequately play as CEO of Samsa, which is largely seen as a regulating entity.
Mokhele has held the position since 2008 on an initial five-year contract which was later extended. He resigned last week and will be replaced by Samsa COO Sobantu Tilayi.
“I am staying in the maritime industry to mobilise our industry to make sure it takes advantage of the opportunities under Operation Phakisa,” he says.
He believes companies have been slow to pursue greater industrialisation in the sector. “The state is leading where the private sector should be leading,” says Mokhele.
Transport economist Andrew Marsay says Operation Phakisa has good intentions, including its plan for more local ship-building to carry more SA goods. But he says it was another attempt by government to demonstrate that it has a role in the economy.
“More government intervention, even though it may seem that government is doing something, often has the unintended effect of slowing things down,” Marsay says. “Are there no other ways of achieving the same objectives with less state involvement?”
State participation, he says, is more important in the protection of the ocean environment from the shipping industry.
Operation Phakisa had R5bn available for shipbuilding projects in 2014. In the same year, new legislation was introduced requiring future government shipbuilding projects to have 60% local content, something industry had been lobbying for.
Mokhele says he has already worked with a number of companies manufacturing catamarans in the Western Cape. The companies operate from various sites in the province, and one of them exports 20 boats a month.