Durban - The CEO of Sandock Austral, one of Africa’s biggest shipbuilding and repair firms Prasheen Maharaj, believes some of the challenges vexing the country’s maritime sector has simple solutions.
“I think we need to go back to basics. Start grabbing the low hanging fruit. Set realistic goals and targets and stick to them,” he told IOL as the country celebrates Transport Month in October.
As the captain of his industry, Maharaj has spent decades analysing port operations over his career, which could be described as illustrious, as he sits at the helm of Africa’s leading defence and maritime company - Sandock Austral Group.
Although too large to be quantified, SA’s major challenges could be put into a macro and micro perspective, he said.
At a macro level, he said for the port business and businesses across the country, Eskom affects them the most.
“From a macro point of view, if we don’t solve the Eskom problem and don’t stabilise the grid, it is a constraint to growth. It causes too many disruptions,” he said.
“Secondly, from a macro point of view, we have ageing infrastructure that has not been maintained or recapitalised for a long time. For example, even if we acquire new trains to take goods in and out of the port, those trains are stuck there.
“Even if they attempt maintenance, incompetent sub-contractors are employed. Billions are being spent, but the equipment is not being fixed,” Maharaj said.
At a micro level, Maharaj said the government should start grabbing the low hanging fruit and ask itself, “what can be done for little to no money”.
“The level of inefficiency at the general level at Transnet, for example, is too low. The upper management gets worked, but if you go down the line, you see workers are only working for around 4 hours in a day.
“I think this is a problem because salaries at Transnet are more than 50% of their operational cost. If salaries are so high and workers are doing so little, what is being done to hold them accountable?” he added.
He said some departments are still working under Covid regulations, which is putting a dent in productivity.
“The port is a physical place. You need to be on the ground. You need to keep your finger on the pulse. I call these back to basic issues. If we need to manage our people, we need to be in front of them.
“If you need to maintain equipment, you choose the best price and the best person. We must do the simple things.”
Furthermore, the ongoing salary strike at Transnet, which comes just as the international maritime industry is descending on Durban for the World Maritime Day Parallel Event, which runs from 12 to 14 October 2022.
Transnet declared force majeure at its ports on Thursday as the “illegal strike” persists.
It was reported that The United National Transport Union (UNTU) and the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU), who represent most Transnet workers, rejected the SOE’s wage increase of 3-4%.
Maharaj said the country stands the chance of being the laughing stock of the international shipping community, given workers have downed tools once again.
He said the previous big protest at Tranet that took place in 2010 lasted 17 days and took the SOE seven months to clear the backlog.
“That strike cost us millions,” he said.
Malignant corruption and excessively high salaries at SA’s port SOE - Transnet are just some of the factors surrounding its inefficiencies that hamper economic growth.
According to sources, a cleaner at Transnet gets paid around R11,000 per month.
Maharaj says this is extremely high for a cleaner, adding that artisans with experience and qualifications in the private sector get this type of salary.
He believes the relationship between unions and the government is not a healthy one in relation to economic growth.
“The unions are basically holding the government hostage because they offer them a huge political support,” he said, adding that the country needed to be depoliticised before progressing.
But the burden of driving economic growth does not fall on the shoulder of the government alone, as the private sector has a huge hand to play, Maharaj explains.
“I don’t think that we as the private sector should say ‘we pay our taxes, the government must do their job’. Not in this climate. We all need to work together. I think it's important to have some form of collaboration between the state agencies and private sector to discuss who's doing what and who is in charge of what.
“I don’t think it's the state’s job to innovate and create. They are meant to regulate and enforce. It’s up to us as businesses to bring our experience and expertise to the table,” he said.
IOL