BUSA notes and welcomes President Ramaphosa’ s announcement on the establishment of Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) as an independent subsidiary of Transnet. BUSA CEO Cas Coovadia states “it is well known that South Africa’s ports are currently beset by numerous challenges, and are ranked poorly in international comparisons, including when compared to ports on our continent. While it is common cause that these constraints significantly impact on the competitiveness of South Africa’s exports, the impact on the broader economy is equally significant.”

Coovadia adds that “for this reason, innovative reorganisation was necessary, and the announcement constitutes a significant step in the right direction. To the extent that this will unlock investment and increase opportunities for cooperation with the private sector – the users of our ports infrastructure – this can only be in the national interest.”

Coovadia also said: “This announcement, on the back of the announcement by the President on lifting the ceiling for embedded generation to 100MW, is a welcome trend in which the President is taking decisive steps necessary to instil confidence amongst investors and to signal SA is on the road to economic growth.”

“Whereas business has been concerned about the underperformance of our ports for some time and has been vocal in its interactions with social partners on the topic, the establishment of an independent TNPA will allow the collective focus to move away from challenges towards innovative solutions” concludes Coovadia.

ENDS
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For more information, please contact:
Sizwe Maswanganye
Communications Manager
Tel: 011 784 8000
Email: sizwe.maswanganye@busa.org.za