Creecy promises support for logistics sector

New Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has pledged her support for working closely with the private sector and the National Logistics Crisis Committee to turn around Transnet and increase its performance to pre-Covid-19 levels.

Delivering the opening speech at the 42nd^and At the Southern African Transport Conference in Pretoria on Monday, Creecy outlined the status quo of the transport sector, the myriad of issues it faces around the world and the work the National Logistics Crisis Committee has done so far to fix Transnet. The conference, which is being attended by business leaders, industry experts and government officials from across the region, will be held from July 8-11.

Creecy expressed her willingness to work with the industry to address its challenges.

“Let today be the beginning of a new relationship between me, my office and the important industry stakeholders gathered here. An efficient and functioning transportation sector is key to a successful economy,” Creecy said.

“We all know today that our sector is neither operating as an effective facilitator of economic development nor as a social service. The state of our roads, logistical and capacity issues affecting our freight network and road safety are just some of the issues that have plagued the sector in recent times.

“As our transport systems suffer, our economy struggles with slowing growth, falling investment and working people unable to get to work at affordable prices or on time, we see rising unemployment in a country that desperately needs more jobs,” the minister said.

She added that the establishment of the NLCC, chaired by President Ramaphosa, and the adoption by Cabinet of the Freight Logistics Action Plan were significant steps in addressing these challenges.

“Together with Minister (Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation) Maropene Ramokgopa, we will ensure that important reforms continue at Transnet to ensure it reaches pre-pandemic performance levels.

“Anchorage times for vessels waiting to berth at the Port of Durban have been shortened and the terminal operator has been appointed to partner with Transnet to develop and modernise the port.”

She added that her department will prioritise road safety and implementing a green strategy that focuses on investing in renewable energy infrastructure and promoting the transition to alternative fuels.

South Africa has signed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by United Nations Member States in 2015. One of the Sustainable Development Goals is to halve the number of people killed and injured in road traffic accidents globally by 2030.

However, Creecy said that a Statistics South Africa report titled Road transport fatalities in South Africa 2007–2019revealed that the number of deaths caused by road transport was unacceptably high.

Creecy added that advances in digital technologies and new inventions using renewable energy will revolutionize transportation over the next decade, while the transition to new energy vehicles (NEVs) is also accelerating rapidly around the world.

“Such innovations include operational automation and real-time tracking of shipments, which facilitates port management, digital signalling, which will modernise the management of our rail system, the use of artificial intelligence in road traffic management and the introduction of autonomous vehicles and drones for deliveries,” she added.

“That means no time can be wasted on upskilling those already working in these industries so they don’t get left behind as we transition to widespread adoption of these new technologies.”

The sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in Europe by 2035. New York also announced that the sale of almost all petrol and diesel cars and trucks in the state will be banned by 2035.

Creecy said her department would prioritise its Green Transport Strategy, which ensures its aims do not conflict with the country’s climate change mitigation goals.

Creecy added that in an era of hyper-globalization, the country must leverage its unique geographic location as a vital transit hub for landlocked neighbors and other countries on the continent.

“By fully integrating and modernising our rail networks in the southern African region, we can deliver on the objectives of agreements such as the African Continental Free Trade Area and, from a South African perspective, leverage our BRICS membership to access new markets,” she said.