As the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry NPC, we truly are excited by the plans that our President Cyril Ramaphosa has been sharing with us; from the Economic recovery plan which addressed tacking the energy crisis that we are facing now as a country,” says Nigel Ward, President Durban Chamber of Commerce, and Industry NPC.
This follows the Presidents tour of the port in Cape Town, when he announced that there is going to be an establishment of TNPA as an independent subsidiary of Transnet.
“The Durban Chamber believes that this announcement will contribute to the economic transformation of South Africa. As a country we are in dire need of extreme reforms to ensure that our growth trajectory starts to recover again, and we get back on track.
Our Ports are valuable assets, they remain vital to the free movement of goods through our import and export. The South African economy is extremely reliant on the logistics sector; hence, an efficient state-owned entity and port will impact the entire value chain positively, from trucking companies to the receiving businesses,” continued Ward.
“As the Durban Chamber we are of the strong view that Transnet is a critical state infrastructure that cannot be allowed to fail or left to operate in disarray and fall into mismanagement therefore improving the performance of the existing ports and restructuring Transnet is non-negotiable. We believe this decision will translate to improved processes, increased investment and maintenance in port infrastructure and fair representation of interest of port users,” commented Palesa Chili, CEO: Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry NPC.
As an organised business, we are assured that this announcement demonstrates Government’s commitment to the transformation of South Africa’s economy. Our Ports offer critical key benefits to the city’s economy, thus if the management and operation of the port is nurtured, we will reap the economic benefits as a country, continued Chili.
There will be a higher degree of harmony between the parties, in both private and public sector, she says.
As organised businesses we encourage the government to continuously engage in meaningful discussions with the private sector on issues of transformation in our national economy. Once we tackle these issues, it will eliminate the red tape challenges that we come across as combined businesses in the private sector.
“As the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry NPC we really applaud our President’s efforts on tackling the issues that we face in South Africa as combined businesses,” says Chili.
Image (Palesa Chili, CEO: Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry NPC).
