South Africa’s ports and metropolitan municipalities are in decline, prompting experts to call for skill-based appointments in public institutions.
Merit-based appointments in municipalities and state-owned enterprises could resolve the decline in key government sectors that are engines of economic growth, according to experts.
The World Bank and the S&P Global Container Port Performance Index ranked SA ports the lowest among the 400 sampled globally. The Port of Durban was ranked 398th out of 400, and the Port of Cape Town 400th out of 400. The Port of Durban was listed as having improved the most; however, its ranking did not change. The country’s fruit export sector reportedly lost billions of rands due to severe operational failures at the Port of Cape Town, forcing producers to ship fresh produce to alternative ports.
At the same time, the Auditor-General of SA, Tsakani Maluleke, has reported that the country’s metropolitan municipalities are regressing not only in audit outcomes but also in financial health and service delivery. None of South Africa’s eight metropolitan municipalities obtained a clean audit status.
These metros, the City of Joburg, City of Cape Town, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, City of Tshwane, City of Ekurhuleni, Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Buffalo City Metro, and Nelson Mandela Bay, account for nearly 54% of local government expenditure and serve about 40% of the country’s population and households.
