Dear Stakeholder

It gives me great pleasure to speak with you important stakeholders. This newsletter edition contains news about events that happened during women’s month.

For the EMC organization and the maritime fraternity, Women’s Month celebrations are a yearly tradition. Throughout South Africa, several initiatives and activities are planned during August to encourage women to pursue their goals. The commemoration of women’s month is an opportunity to raise awareness among people about reforms that could lead to equitable opportunities for all women worldwide. The occasion of Woman’s month is a wonderful opportunity to remind ourselves how crucial it is to stand up for our female counterparts. You should encourage and appreciate every lady you come across because they deserve it.

The Covid-19 pandemic might be currently at ease with the parameters being relaxed, but we are indeed still feeling the effects that it has left. After reading Freight News published article on the importers enduring interruptions as pressure on global supply chains persists. It is important we encourage the need for flexibility within our service offerings and the necessity to provide alternatives to the normal.

I would like to applaud the formation of the Maritime Industry Transport Development Task Force Network (Network), which aims to encourage private sector participation in teaming up to propel the industry toward growth and economic development. We will commit our full endorsement to the cause as it is one with enormous potential and can yield growth for the South African maritime industry.

Before I conclude, we must congratulate the Transnet Group for the work put out in creating our port systems. It was a sign of progress for the sector when the finance minister made statements on Operation Vulindlela progress reports and observed the prospective bidders for the Durban and Ngqura container ports. We therefore encourage the inclusion of local SMEs in the port development proceedings.

We aim to cover all significant industry events in our newsletters, including all additional EMC projects that have been launched over the preceding month. We hope you will like reading this issue and find it fascinating.

Your feedback on any of our stories would be highly appreciated.

Let the harmony and colours of spring shine in your life!

Zenzile Gwamanda| Managing Director |EThekwini Maritime Cluster|