Comment: ‘It’s time for political leadership to help unlock Eastern Cape economy’

POLITICIANS ARE quick to point out that the Eastern
Cape is the “poorest province” in the country. It is a
refrain heard in speech after speech, particularly by
local representatives, in the hope that someone from
national government will listen – or care.
Largely, the voices go unheard.
With little chance of being voted out in the
foreseeable future, the ANC seems to have placed the
Eastern Cape at the bottom of the list of priorities.
That, at least, is the view of many in business and
politics in the province.
How else does one explain reluctance by
government-owned organisations like Transnet and
Eskom to invest in the province?
One of the burning issues is the port of East
London. It serves a vast area – including the
poverty stricken Transkei and Ciskei regions where
unemployment runs at over 70%.
A partnership between business and local
government has pointed out that plans for forestry,
furniture, agri-business, goat exports and more
will run aground if the port of East London is not
modernised.
Transnet has, however, said the port is not a
priority.
Similarly with the rail link between East London
and Gauteng. East London has the potential to
be a major African vehicle hub – provided there is
investment in the rail link. Again, it is not a Transnet
priority. Nor is the rail link between Port Elizabeth
and East London.
Port Elizabeth is (slowly) getting the port of
Ngqura some years after President Thabo Mbeki
promised it would be operational. There the big
issues are the airport runway, which is too short for
international flights, and the stalling by Transnet on
the relocation of an unsightly manganese ore dump
on one of the city’s main beaches.
The moving of the ore dump and neighbouring
tank farm to Ngqura is central to plans for the
revitalisation of the Port Elizabeth city centre.
Viewed from a strictly business perspective,
Transnet has a case. It will possibly get better returns
on other investments.
But, if one analyses the situation from the
perspective of government – its only shareholder
– the picture is very different. There the returns
are enormous in terms of job creation, poverty
alleviation and taxes. Government will certainly
make a profit on the
investments.
Then there is the
whole question of
whether parastatal
organisations should
declare a profit at all in a
“developmental state” as
envisioned by the ANC
at its mid-year policy
conference.
Speaking to the media after the conference,
national executive committee member Joel
Netshitenzhe is reported as saying that the ANC
believed the state should have the capacity to
intervene in the economy in the interests of national
development, higher rates of growth and social
inclusion.
The Eastern Cape provides just such an
opportunity – either intervene as was done earlier
to force Transnet to build the port of Ngqura – or
invite private enterprise to invest where government
monopolies have shown they have no interest.
There are precedents. Private cellphone
companies provided telecommunications almost
overnight to areas in
the Transkei and Ciskei
where Telkom had not
reached. The provincial
government has funded
the resuscitation of the
Border-Kei rail link.
But the Eastern
Cape needs to build on
these successes and the
political leadership has
to stand up to national government and demand that
the shackles of poverty be broken by investment in
the logistical infrastructure of the province.
Voter patience cannot last forever.