Magwenya: Cabinet to discuss plan meant to resolve freight crisis
The Presidency’s Vincent Magwenya says the cabinet will discuss the approval of the ‘National Logistics Road Map’ on Wednesday as efforts continue to solve the crisis at Transnet.
The state-owned enterprise is faced with a huge backlog at the Port of Durban, which has also created congestion at the harbour in Richards Bay.
Thousands of containers have been stuck at the country's ports before the festive season, which is usually busy with imports and exports.
The backlog is estimated to cost the economy billions of rands.
Transnet has attributed the delays to adverse weather conditions and equipment issues.
Magwenya was updating members of the media on Wednesday in Parliament, Cape Town, on the President’s public programme.
“One of the agenda items is the National Logistics Road Map, which will be discussed in cabinet and hopefully will be approved,” Magwenya said during a briefing on Wednesday.
“As you know, that road map is seeking to not only in the short and medium term resolve the backlog in our ports but also to fundamentally reform the logistics sector in the long term and ensure that we do not suffer the kind of backlogs that we have seen which have had a detrimental effect on our economy, particularly the issues around Transnet.”
At the same time, DA leader John Steenhuisen has called on Parliament to establish an ad-hoc committee to resolve the crisis at KZN ports.
Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa also visited the port in Richards Bay, and said Transnet is working to resolve the 15-week backlog.
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