The Democratic Alliance (DA) has expressed its satisfaction with Transnet’s 25-year joint venture with Philippines-headquartered International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) to develop and manage the Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 2.

The party says this partnership is in alignment with its current policy stance of opening up State-owned enterprises to private sector investment.

Further, the DA has implored Transnet to accelerate private sector investment in the rest of the port system to improve efficiency and increase the country’s competitiveness as a viable trade destination.

The DA has requested Transnet to provide transparency on the full details of the ICTSI deal, including the tendering process, the exact amounts that ICTSI will be investing into DCT Pier 2 and profit sharing arrangements between both parties.

“The Department of Public Enterprises has tied itself in knots on the SAA/Takatso deal following their repeated failure to provide clarity on why Takatso has still not stumped up the money that it said it would invest in SAA as part of the deal. To avoid the same mistakes, Transnet must take the public into its confidence by publicizing the contractual agreements that it has entered into with ICTSI,” DA MP Ghaleb Cachalia said.

The party has urged Transnet to ensure accountability when entering into commercial deals with the private sector.

“With South African ports still ranked among the world’s worst, private sector investment is critical for promoting innovation and unlocking value in the logistics value chain,” Cachalia said.