Juanita Maree, CEO of the South African Association of Freight Forwarders, says the government and Transnet are finally getting real about the country's logistics crisis, which she has warned for years is a greater threat to the economy than Eskom.
“Never before have we had a structure where we could discuss operational and structural issues like we've been doing since the [joint business-government] national logistics crisis committee was set up by President [Cyril] Ramaphosa in April.
“There's definitely a commitment to make it work and an awareness that our logistics network is in a crisis. I've never felt this before.”
Their meetings with Transnet have become “dynamic and constructive. We talk about the technical things that need to be done. It's not airy-fairy any more.”
In previous engagements with the private sector, Transnet behaved as if they were “a law unto themselves and they will decide what they want to do or not do. There's a different reality now.
I don't know if it's because the crisis we're in has brought some light to them, or if it's a different board that is asking different questions, but there is definitely a different attitude.”
The new board appointed in July and chaired by former top Anglo American executive Andile Sangqu has already made its presence felt, she says.
“These are instrumental people. I've been in meetings with nonexecutive directors who participate actively in my ports and rail corridors workstream and give very concrete solutions. I'm really thrilled. I think that's our silver lining.”
They're accompanied by senior Transnet executives and even CEO Portia Derby, who previously attended few if any meetings, sending juniors instead.
There's a calendar of weekly meetings until December and “a cadence of accountability, responsibility and delivery”.
The final version of a national freight logistics plan that Operation Vulindlela strategists have been working on with “very clued up” experts from the private sector is due to go to cabinet in September and then to parliament.
Business will be consulted along the way.
“We can't tell them what the plan must be, but we can say whether we think it will be a good enabler, what things need to be prioritised and how quickly they can realistically be done and should be done. We're the ground operators so that's stuff we know about.”
She hopes it will be treated with more urgency than the all-important Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill which is vital for opening up the energy market, and which in spite of urgings by business to hurry it up has just been introduced in parliament five months after being approved by cabinet.
“Our economy depends 60% on trade, meaning in and outflows, meaning an efficient logistics network. So we'd better hope that the logistics plan will be treated with more urgency by the government, and hold them accountable if necessary. We can't afford to wait.”
There's a feeling that this is about SA Inc now, that if we don't fix our country the world's going to leave us behind
— Freight Forwarders CEO Juanita Maree
The crisis committee has an accountability structure which “from our side works. We have plans and commitments and people have to deliver on those commitments. I can tell you we in the business sector feel the pressure and we work long hours, and I think our colleagues in the public sector probably experience the same pressure.”
The fact that two years after issuing a request for interest Transnet has now announced a Philippines-based international port operator as a 25-year equity partner to run its flagship Durban container terminal may be evidence of this, she says.
But two months later there's little to show for it, which bothers her.
The Durban container terminal’s latest week on week performance index is “one of the worst we’ve ever seen. We’re in dire straits. We need to get those containers out of the terminal faster from day one.”
They've been calling for private sector participation in running Durban port since at least 2021, when a World Bank index of container ports ranked it 364th out of 370.
“But you can't have private sector participation that just brings another monopoly; it needs to bring productivity. We need to be very clear about that; we need to monitor productivity.
“You need a model of private sector participation that creates a competitive environment, and has an accountability structure to ensure you deliver.”
The logistics crisis committee doesn't have insight into the agreement between Transnet and its private sector partner, but “if we don't see tangible results by November then we'll need to raise serious questions”.
They'll be monitoring the movement of cargo in and out of the port and will hold Transnet accountable if volumes and timelines are not achieved. They also expect to see improvements at Cape Town and Ngqura container terminals, which have been “screaming” for private sector participation.
It doesn't have to be the same model as in Durban, she says. They don't need to outsource the whole terminal, just some activities.
“We need to see improvements before the end of the year.”
The accountability structure of the logistics crisis committee allows them to escalate matters up to the Presidency if necessary.
Transnet will also be held to timelines for increasing volumes on the commodity corridors and the Durban-Johannesburg container corridor.
“We need to be sure that if there's a commodities boom the infrastructure is ready so we can capitalise on the commodity prices.”
Derby has blamed Transnet's poor performance on the withholding of locomotives by the Chinese, but Maree doesn't buy this.
“People are sick and tired of this narrative about the locomotives. It's a combination of things. You need the right management and structure in place, you need to repair your existing locomotives. They've got a very strong engineering department in Transnet, so why can't they look at that?”
She says she's confident the accountability structure in the Vulindlela plan will be strong enough to ensure Transnet can't hijack the process of opening up ports and rail to competitive private sector participation.
Meetings with Transnet have been “robust”, and she thinks they've finally got the message.
“There's a feeling that this is about SA Inc now, that if we don't fix our country the world's going to leave us behind.”
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