City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, James Vos, and the Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas, have met with the local Transnet leadership to discuss a way forward from recent and longstanding issues that have beset the Port of Cape Town.
Some of the problems plaguing the port operations related to logistics, equipment and infrastructure, said Vos. “I hold the view that any inefficiencies will harm the Western Cape's economy and cost jobs, at a time when we desperately need to be creating more.”
Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier, highlighted last month that some of the challenges included poor infrastructure maintenance and insufficient infrastructure investment to help the port function optimally.
“As per Transnet Port Terminal’s annual reports, over the last three years capital under expenditure amounted to R2.3 billion (€134.1m) or almost 30% of Transnet Port Terminal’s capital budget.
“The situation is even worse when it comes to Transnet National Port Authority, with capital under expenditure amounting to R4.2 billion (€244.8m) over the last three years, or 57% of its capital budget over this period,” Maynier elaborated.
He added that any talk of private-sector investment in port operations, seemed to have evaporated and was reportedly unlikely to materialise within the next two years in the Port of Cape Town.
Maynier conceded that there had been some notable successes recently, including some infrastructure investment and an important policy shift with the commitment to exploring partnerships with the private sector.
“This would bring new investment, technology and expertise to port operations and could be a huge step forward.”
Develop the cruising sector
The City and the Western Cape government have undertaken to develop the cruising sector for Cape Town, with Cruise Cape Town recently pointing out that, globally, the demand for cruising reflected a 20.5% growth over the last five years, with the Cape Town Cruise Terminal performing exceptionally well, with 206 cruise ships recorded over the last five cruise seasons (2015-2019).
Vessels that docked at the Cape Town Cruise Terminal during the November 2018-April 2019 cruise season collectively contributed over R2 million (€113 400) in spend from ships’ crew members alone. The highest spend was linked to hotels, handling processing, transport and meals for crew members.
“The economic boost to be gained from cruise tourism is massive, holding huge potential to further drive regional tourism, create jobs in both downstream and upstream industries and boost investment into Cape Town and the Western Cape. We welcome the resumption of the cruise season and the promise it holds in positively impacting our local economy,” said Maynier.
Critical role undermined
Vos, however, pointed out that if national government did not prioritise the allocation of funding and resources to fix the situation, it undermined the critical role the port played in supporting exports and economic growth.
“Cape Town Port Manager, Rajesh Dana, who was appointed in December, led the Transnet team in our current engagement. Even though his appointment was quite recent, I was encouraged that Mr Dana and his officials came forward with positive and proactive proposal updates for dealing with the concerns raised,” said Vos.
He highlighted the importance of the port infrastructure in terms of industries related to the oceans economy. “Our recently formed and City-funded BlueCape special partner is researching these possibilities, including how to step up oceans protection, and growing marine manufacturing and ship repair.
“We are also honing our focus as a cruise destination and have formed a partnership – through Cruise Cape Town – with Transnet, the V&A Waterfront and others whose goal is to realise the metro’s potential in this space. There are massive economic benefits for the Mother City in this market in terms of crew and passenger spend and with our ultimate goal to position Cape Town as a home port where people would fly into the city and then begin their cruise trip from our shores, all elements of our offering must be world-class,” highlighted Vos.
He said he also welcomed the decision of the Port Regulator in December 2021 to limit tariff increases, pointing out that this would have a profound effect on both the competitiveness of the Port of Cape Town as well as Cape Town companies using the port.
“Many of the challenges facing the port are complex and will take time to resolve but I am greatly encouraged by the proactive manner of the new port leadership and their willingness to engage with us and other stakeholders as we jointly work towards growing our city’s economy,” said Vos.
