Relinquishing the desire for a salty SONA

Calling for a ministerial shift from policy to practice

If you're a maritime stakeholder in South Africa, you are likely to approach this year’s SONA with a deepening level of frustration. Many believe we remain poised on the precipice to drive real change for a vibrant ocean economy, but most have cultivated a cynical understanding that most promises for quick actions will continue to stall.

In an open letter to the President ahead of the SONA delivery, Unathi Sonti of the Maritime Chamber neatly summarises the need to recognise the country’s strategic maritime potential.

“We respectfully submit that the State of the Nation Address should recognise Maritime as a national economic priority that extends far beyond ports and Transnet and acknowledge the urgent need to modernise South Africa’s shipyards and dry dock infrastructure to unlock opportunities in ship repairs, marine engineering, and associated services,” he writes.

While I agree with Sonti’s sentiment, I am finally willing to admit to the reality that the State of the Nation Address is not designed to provide clarity on the level the industry requires. It can only offer platitudes that aim to quell insecurities; promote some debate; signify some economic understanding and celebrate some gains.

This means that SONA should be seen as wholly irrelevant to what is actually happening and what needs to be done. It’s time to call out the Minister of Transport, her maritime division and the new CEO of the South African Maritime Safety Authority to deliver a status update directly to the industry. We should extend the invite to the new Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment for a broader understanding of what his department is doing.

While not every aspect of the maritime sector is governed by the Department of Transport (DoT) and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), they do control the broader governance and legislative landscape in which the sectors operate.

Since 2018 Ramaphosa’s SONAs have only scratched the surface of the maritime economy. His attention has rightly focused on the ports and port efficiencies. No doubt this year he will call us to celebrate nominal wins in performance and private sector participation – noting specifically how Operation Vulindlela is successfully addressing the freight and logistics crisis. He may even confirm that the plans for the corporatisation of Transnet National Ports Authority will be completed by March.

But honestly, I do not want to hear how the Port of Cape Town was singled out in the latest Container Port Performance Index release by the World Bank in September last year as the “most improved port”. Focusing on the fact that the Port of Cape town achieved the biggest score improvement may seem applaudable, but our excitement is rightly tempered by the fact that in 2023 the port was ranked 387^th out of 387 ports.

The improvement in its CCPI score of nearly 240 points saw it rank 400th out of 403 ports in the latest report. So, yes, the Port of Cape Town is no longer at the bottom of the list, but guess what? The Port of Durban has moved in to take that dubious honour. Also included in the ranking, the Port of Ngqura – developed as a greenfield project to become the country’s efficient container hub port – ranks just one ahead of Durban after hovering at the bottom of the rankings since 2020.

It was Ramaphosa that eliminated the Department of Public Enterprises thus assigning Transnet to the DoT. And so, while I do not anticipate that our president will dive more deeply into ongoing challenges that port users and maritime stakeholders experience, wouldn’t it be useful to call on Minister Barbara Creecy to stand before the maritime constituency and address specific concerns.

Creecy visited several ports last year providing soundbites and posing for photos in safety gear. We have seen much hype about the signing of concessions and Transnet continues to issue RFPs for further private sector participation. There’s a back story to many of these deals. There has been protracted legal action and almost nothing seems to fall into place without at least a small dose of controversy.

The Minister’s declaration around the Island View Precinct leases last year was meant to bring some clarity and stability to the sector, but we are likely to see this topic revisited by the Portfolio Committee on Transport this year. By the end of 2025, it was clear that a reversal on her Section 79 Directive could not be discounted.

Representatives from the Economic Intervention Forum of South Africa (EIFSA), Capricorn Petrochemicals, LIU Energy, Nako Energy, and other black-owned firms accused the Transport Minister of using Section 79 of the National Ports Act inappropriately to renew leases for major oil companies, bypassing a transparent public tender process required under Section 56.  

Then there is the matter of the need to finalise the corporatisation of the Ports Authority. Indeed, Transnet’s shift to the DoT does not seem to have accelerated this journey. Introduced to Operation Vulindlela in 2021, the latest progress report published in January, tells us that detailed plans for the corporatisation will be completed in March this year. To be clear – this does not provide comfort as to when the actual process will be completed.

In her address, Minister Creecy needs to include a confirmed timeline on this. We’ve watched dates come and go without much accountability.

And what about other port infrastructure? Phakisa’s promises to unlock the value of the ship repair sector by promoting efforts to maintain as well as refurbish existing Transnet-managed infrastructure were by no means accelerated. While small gains have been made as work to repair caissons and capstans rolled out – it took a threat by the Ports Regulator of South Africa for Transnet to finally deliver their Ship Repair Strategy in September last year.

The State of the Maritime Industry Address we want to hear needs to be clear on the promises, timelines and accountability incorporated in this strategy.

Ramaphosa may use SONA to congratulate the DoT and the team at the South African Maritime Safety Authority for securing a seat on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council. He would be right in doing so.

It’s fitting, therefore, to note that the IMO has launched a two-year global initiative to promote the World Maritime Day theme – “From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence.” We want to hear how our key government departments, the DoT and DFFE, intend integrating this into their mandate and performance plans.

“When we talk about ‘practice’, we are talking about people. The seafarers on the ship; the people in the port; those managing ship operations, ship recycling workers, port State control officers and flag State administrators,” IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has said who adds that the IMO is committed to powering this transition through technical cooperation and direct support

If we are going to commit to shifting policy to practice, we can no longer afford for maritime legislation to waft through the system. The withdrawlal of the Draft Merchant Shipping Bill in October last year to allow the Department of Transport to finalise the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) process could have been avoided.

Introduced to parliament in May 2023, the Merchant Shipping Bill had a slow start and had to be revived in July 2024 after lapsing in May 2024, but it was only in March 2025 that the Portfolio Committee heard that the Bill had not been tabled to Nedlac prior to being introduced.

We have the policy, we have the strategies, but we need to shift gears and put these into practice.

That’s why I am no longer that interested in the content of official State of the Nation Address. As a maritime industry we need to call on the relevant Ministers to deliver a very pointed, direct, focused, comprehensive address that provides clarity on pressing issues.

Yes, I will still tune in to the live stream after the even more irrelevant parades up the red carpet to listen for salty content, but no – I am not tethered to the idea that SONA can effectively address the state of the country’s maritime sector in any meaningful way.  

PHOTO: Adobe Photostock licence

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