Statement by the Mayco Member for Economic Opportunities

I fully support the renewed calls by my provincial counterpart, David Maynier, for more movement towards privatising the Transnet-owned Cape Town Port.

The need to privatise is clear, the inefficiencies restrain the metro and province’s economic and employment growth, and come at a time when we desperately need to be bolstering both.

While the 2021 announcement of the corporatisation of the National Ports Authority and the President’s SONA update regarding private partnerships for the Durban and Ngqura Container Terminals are welcome, I cannot stress enough the critical need to make concrete moves towards building efficiencies in the port terminals of the Mother City. Cape Town  – along with South Africa’s other ports – has sunk to the bottom end of the World Bank global container port performance report.

The challenges of the port are complex. However, in partnership with the private sector, I hold the view that these can be overcome and help the Port of Cape Town become the go-to hub for international trade.

Source: City Of Cape Town