The Democratic Alliance has called on Transport Minister Barbara Creecy to accelerate reforms at South Africa's ports, warning that ongoing operational shortcomings continue to affect export performance and economic growth.
According to the DA, the problems were particularly visible during the recent fruit export season at the Port of Cape Town. Party spokesperson on transport and member of parliament Chris Hunsinger pointed to repeated operational failures that affected the movement of fresh produce.
"Failures at the port cost the fruit sector hundreds of millions of rands in losses and additional transport costs," Hunsinger said, which corresponds to losses of several billion U.S. dollars. He noted that while strong winds disrupted terminal operations, Transnet lacked adequate recovery planning once conditions improved. He also cited health and safety constraints linked to wind operations and staffing limitations during the festive period as ongoing weaknesses.
Hunsinger acknowledged limited progress under Transnet's current leadership, referring to better equipment availability and a clearer reform agenda. However, he stressed that these steps have not resulted in consistent port performance. According to him, incremental improvements have not resolved structural weaknesses across the logistics system.
The DA said similar challenges are present beyond Cape Town. South African ports continue to rank near the bottom of the global Container Port Performance Index compiled by the World Bank and S&P Global. In the 2024 index covering 403 ports, Cape Town ranked 400th, Coega 402nd, and Durban 403rd.
The index did report year-on-year improvements at Cape Town and Coega between 2023 and 2024, with Cape Town recording the largest improvement globally, linked to investments in equipment, warehousing, and predictive weather modelling.
Hunsinger said the accumulated cost of port inefficiencies over the past five years amounts to hundreds of billions of rands, equivalent to tens of billions of U.S. dollars, with negative implications for employment, investment, and growth.
The DA reiterated its position that private-sector participation is required to address the situation. Proposed reforms include appointing private partners at the Cape Town bulk terminal and container terminals, as well as unbundling the Ports Authority from Transnet. According to the party, these steps should be completed in 2026.
Hunsinger also warned against continued reliance on government guarantees without operational improvement. "Transnet cannot continue to rely on ever-increasing government guarantees without sustained performance improvements, or future generations will be saddled with tens of billions of rands in additional debt."
Source: Freight News
