MEC for Economic Development in the province, Sihle Zikalala is pinning his hopes on the newly appointed City Manager Sipho Nzuza to revitalize the maritime sector, which he says has not been exploited as much as it should. Nzuza is a former Manager of Cape Town Port.
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Speaking at Moses Mabhida on Tuesday, before the tour to major development projects around Durban, including the Bridge City precinct in KwaMashu and the Dube TradePort, Zikala said:
“We are a province on the move with the most diverse economy in the country, second to Gauteng and contributing 16.5 to the GDP of this country, based on manufacturing industries, such as the automotive sector, mining, agriculture, tourism and maritime which has not been exploited up to now.
“We are glad to have Sipho Nzuza back with us as the new city manager and we hope he will take us forward on that front.”
At a recent roundtable discussion in Durban, South African Maritime SafetyAuthority (Samsa) acting CEO Sobantu Tilayi said the country was in a unique position to leverage substantial opportunities within the maritime industry but needed greater buy-in from industry participants.
He said this year would see greater focus on the renewal of South Africa’s aged fishing fleet which included vessels that were up to 40 years old and added that there had been almost no investment in capital assets.
Instead, old vessels from Europe were being used. “Supporting the industry to invest in new vessels would have a positive impact on ship builders.” he said, adding “Our solutions can’t only be our solutions.
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South Africa needs to see itself as part of the wider continent-wide maritime industry. Just 40 per cent of the value expected to be extracted from this growth would come from South Africa with 60 per cent coming from elsewhere in Africa,” he said.
Zikalala also welcomed the World Economic Forum on Africa delegates while also urging investors to invest in KZN. He said the province was full of opportunities for investors as it boasted a diverse economy. Durban could be proud of a great record when it came to hosting mega events and wanted to be the home of the South African leg of the WEFA, Zikalala said.
“If you talk about the WEF on a global level, people just know it is in Davos. We can be a home for the WEF in Africa,” he added.
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