South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) has challenged President Cyril Ramaphosa before to his Thursday afternoon State of the Nation Address.
In response to a statement made by Ramaphosa in his SONA address in 2022, that Transnet will begin the process of providing third-party access to its freight rail network in April 2022 by making slots available on the container corridor between Durban and City Deep in Gauteng, the association is calling for an urgent and comprehensive reform.
Since the president’s talk, the private sector has stayed unchanged, according to SAAFF spokesperson Kobie Hyman.
“The private sector has not seen any reforms to provide third-party access to private operators on our national rail network to date,”
“Make it matter Mr. President, for South Africa to overcome the disarray at Transnet Freight Rail, a practical, lasting, and functional public-private cooperation is required.
“In his speech, Ramaphosa stated that Transnet has formed partnerships with the corporate sector to combat cable theft and vandalism on the freight rail network through the implementation of innovative technologies and the deployment of security staff.
The contrary has been true. Despite the fact that the deterioration of rail freight has been a reality for some time, the recent months have been nothing short of a calamity due to the remarkable acceleration of disruptive events caused by criminality, malfunctioning equipment, and depleted infrastructure.
“SAAFF, on behalf of the logistics industry and in concert with private sector organizations, has repeatedly advocated for decisive, drastic corrective action; the nation requires a strong, competent, and independent regulator working across a multi-modal model.
“If an independent regulator is not established, there is a high probability that the cargo rail system will become a private monopoly, a position that SAAFF strongly opposes.”
In addition, he challenged both the public and commercial sectors to produce a solution urgently and cooperatively.
“We cannot emphasize the need of a functional rail infrastructure enough. It is crucial to comprehend the opportunity cost if we fail to adopt a sustainable, well-planned, and adequately implemented strategy to firmly establish reform. South Africa’s freight demand is exceptionally high, necessitating a multimodal strategy. Our SOEs, particularly Transnet, require strong leadership and a change in direction.
»SAAFF contests Ramaphosa prior to his SONA«