Dear stakeholders
It gives me great pleasure to be welcoming you all to our October newsletter edition. In this month’s edition of the newsletter, a highlight of the evolution of the South African maritime will be unfolded.
First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who came to share in the celebration of the WMDPE 2022. Our esteemed guests were able to fully appreciate the vibrant culture of the city of Durban.
To start the month of October our city had the pleasure to welcome international delegates from the International Maritime Organisation and all walks of the maritime world to the IMO’s World Maritime Day Parallel Event 2022 hosted by the Department of Transport in partnership with the South African maritime stakeholders. Since the IMO’s inception as the Inter-governmental Maritime Consultative Organization, South Africa has been a member of the commission. Mzansi’s early participation was in appreciation of the nation’s influence on improving the security and calibre of international shipping as well as its geographic position. We once again proved as a nation that with the power of collaboration all is possible, splendidly hosting the inauguration of the WMDPE in our city post the Covid-19 pandemic.
Through the symposium held at the ICC, The Moses Kotane Institute was able to successfully advance the ongoing efforts to close the employment gap and address other socio-economic problems faced by the thousands of unemployed youngsters in KwaZulu Natal. A successfully carried out symposium to foster increased cooperation between the public and commercial sectors in the efforts to solve the high unemployment rate and impediments to entry into the industry. It will need more networking events of this caliber to address the issues plaguing the sector both inside and externally.
In the spirit of collaboration, I am proud to announce a new venture between the EThekwini Maritime Cluster and Concost Consulting on behalf of the Department of Public Works. The two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on a project that will be unpacking the Value Chain Analysis of KwaZulu Natal’s Maritime Economy for unlocking the opportunities in the Oceans Economy. This new venture will bring a wider scope of collaborative engagements to help identify the missing links in the KZN Oceans Economy Strategy Implementation plan.
We are now looking forward to two upcoming internationally acclaimed events set to take place in November. The TCI Global Conference is expected to host around 200-300 participants from around the world, mainly international experts and practitioners from government and development agencies, cluster initiatives, corporations, and SMEs from strategic sectors and multilateral organizations along with top researchers and academics. Then there is the Oyster World Rally, a Yachting Festival set to stage between 24 November to 9 December 2022 at the Durban Marina (Point Yacht Club)
In conclusion, to all our stakeholders your individual contribution has been pivotal to every milestone we’ve achieved.
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.
As we approach the festive season, may we have a joyful present and a well-remembered past!
Zenzile Gwamanda | EThekwini Maritime Cluster | Managing Director