'Regional integration needed'

GREATER regional integration was needed to boost maritime traffic across Africa's borders, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said in Port Elizabeth yesterday.

Addressing delegates from across Africa at the African Maritime Domain Conference, Peters said that to unlock South Africa's and the continent's maritime potential, certain trade imperatives and infrastructure backlogs had to be addressed.

She said Africa was lagging behind with inter-regional trade and global exports, compared with developing Asia.

"While emerging economies are making significant inroads in global sea trade, African economies are struggling to establish themselves as a powerful maritime trading bloc," Peters said.

Export trade between African countries was only 12%, compared with 25% in South East Asia and 65% in Europe.

Peters said the flawed African regional trade was exacerbated by the average time to market.

On average, it took 37 days to import and 31 days to export within sub-Saharan Africa, Peters said.

She blamed much of the trade delays on outdated, bureaucratic border processes and rife border corruption.

Another big stumbling block for inter-African trade was inadequate infrastructure in the continent. "To address the infrastructure deficit, we need $93-billion [R1.04-trillion] every year until 2020, " Peters said.

While infrastructure development took place on land, concurrent upgrades should also be done at regional shipping hubs.

This would include deeper berths to handle bigger vessels.

In spite of these challenges, Peters said, regional coastal shipping was still the cheaper, faster alternative for promoting regional integration.

While more efficient customs and adequate inland development, coupled with private sector investment, could address the infrastructure and trade backlog in Africa, Africans needed to enforce integration by fast-tracking the oceans' eco- nomies.

"We need to work together for the people of this continent," Peters said.

Transnet National Ports Authority chief executive Tau Morwe said Transnet had promoted regional integration by entering into inter-port cooperation agreements with various African countries.

While it was less expensive to send cargo from Lagos to Australia than from Lagos to Ghana, African port authorities were addressing the challenges associated with the cost and processes of logistics through trade across the continent, he said. - Cindy Preller