South Africa’s Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and the Namibian Port Authority (Namport) on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that would pave the way for cooperation between the two entities.

This is the second in a number of memoranda, the first of which was signed with Maputo Ports Development Company Mozambique in June, that TNPA intended to sign with ports in Southern and East Africa.

“We are looking forward to other regional ports also joining this stable of ports cooperating among themselves to extend the capacity and ability that we can offer to our larger continent and the development of our economies,” Namport CEO Bisey Uirab said at the signing ceremony in Johannesburg.

TNPA CEO Tau Morwe echoed Uirab’s statement, saying that the agreement was not an end in itself and that the envisaged next step would be to get together as regional ports to sign a larger, inter-regional port authority agreement.

“TNPA is well aware that it cannot exist in isolation of what is happening in the region, and the key thrust of this agreement is that you cannot have regional growth or integration without cooperation,” Morwe added.

Countries to be targeted for such agreements included Tanzania, Kenya and Angola, Uirab said, adding that Namport had witnessed an appetite for collaboration during discussions with some of these countries. 

The collaboration between TNPA and Namport was expected to result in the sharing of maritime experiences and exchange of technical expertise, particularly, in relation to port management, port operations, port environment and security, as well as the training of employees. 

Information sharing would include policies on a wide range of topics relevant to activities of port authorities such as infrastructure development, improving the port environment and commercial waterfront development, which will enhance trade and maritime services.

“Namport is entering a new phase in its existence with the emphasis on cost efficiencies, productivity and performance management. This will translate into customer-focused service delivery grounded in total service quality. The MoU will assist us in our goals and in promoting our port,” Uirab said.

He added that it would also contribute to the competitiveness of the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC’s) trade through the efficient, reliable and cost-effective supply of port services.

Morwe further pointed out that regional integration was in line with Transnet’s Market Demand Strategy, which called for a review of the entity’s role in the development of the East-West logistics corridor.

“We believe that, in a spirit of cooperation we can be exponentially more efficient and play a key role in lifting intra-regional trade within the SADC region from its current level of 12%. What we can achieve remains to be seen, but we should aspire to achieve the figures of other leading regional economic communities, such as those of Asia and Europe,  where intra-regional trade is around 60%,” he said.

Meanwhile, Morwe stated that while TNPA and Namport could to some extent be seen as competitors, as each had its own customers and growth strategy, there were greater issues that had to be addressed through collaboration.

“The agreement creates the ability to learn from each other,” he said, adding that some action would be seen during the course of the next month.

“The expectation is that teams from Namport and TNPA will be put in place to identify the opportunities that we can immediately start working on,” Morwe told Engineering News Online.

Uirab added that Namport was going to ensure that the MoU did not follow the path of others that have never been put into practice.

“We want to ensure that this becomes a practical document benefiting the two entities,” he said.