The opening up of the freight rail network to allow for private sector participation by the end of 2022 has been singled out by Agri SA as a highlight of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) delivered by Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, yesterday.
“More than 75% of agricultural goods are currently transported on road, which has proven to be costly, and the move back to rail will have significant positive implications for the sector,” said Nicol Jansen, chair of Agri SA’s Centre of Excellence: Economics.
He said the organisation was encouraged by the commitment to build a capable local government that delivered services effectively and efficiently, as well as the specified plan of action that premiers, provincial Excos and MECs must implement to deal with challenges at the local government level. “We’re looking forward to learning more about the detail of this specified plan as the local communities can no longer bear the brunt of poor service delivery.”