SA maritime trade links vulnerable, expert warns
Thématique :
sud afrique
Sapa, 23 July 2008
The vulnerability of South Africa's maritime trade links with the rest of the world came under the spotlight at the Maritime Security in Southern African Waters conference in Stellenbosch on Wednesday.
The bulk of the country's exports included produce and minerals from the agricultural and mining sectors, most of which were transported by sea, Professor Andre Roux of the Institute for Futures Research at the University of Stellenbosch Business School told delegates.
"Given the nature and 'bulkiness' of what we export and... import, maritime transport is, and will remain, crucial. This introduces an element of vulnerability, [including from] piracy, smuggling, dumping of toxic waste and marine pollution," he warned.
Globalisation and a new international "scramble for resources", especially in Africa, added to this vulnerability.
South Africa's exports, as a percentage of the total economy, had increased between 1990 and 2005 from 24 percent to 27 percent – a figure that Roux described as "disappointing" in comparison with trends in other developing countries.
Over the same period, imports - which would remain an important part of the South African economy - increased from 19 percent to 29 percent.
Roux noted South Africa was a maritime nation.
"Exports, imports, ports and fishing resources are crucial ingredients of our future growth, development and poverty alleviation.
"Globalisation brings with it additional security challenges and vulnerabilities. Maritime security is a prerequisite for holistic security," he said.
Roux's warning follows one delivered at the same conference by the Chief of the SA Navy, Vice Admiral Refilwe Mudimu, on Tuesday, who said there was a "booming rise" in international maritime trade and shipping, but a paradoxical "countervailing trend of maritime
insecurity in all its facets".
South Africa sat astride a major east-west trade route, but lacked a "cohesive maritime policy", he said.
Governments in the southern African region tended to underestimate the importance of the surrounding oceans and the need to exercise sea power through a viable navy, which was essential to protect the "sea lines of communication" that ensured economic sustainability and trade growth, Mudimu said.
A further warning was also sounded by Helmoed Heitman of Jane's Defence, who in a paper delivered at the conference said most African governments "do not pay sufficient attention to their respective maritime domains".
This neglect was "politically, economically and strategically dangerous", he said.
The vulnerability of South Africa's maritime trade links with the rest of the world came under the spotlight at the Maritime Security in Southern African Waters conference in Stellenbosch on Wednesday.
The bulk of the country's exports included produce and minerals from the agricultural and mining sectors, most of which were transported by sea, Professor Andre Roux of the Institute for Futures Research at the University of Stellenbosch Business School told delegates.
"Given the nature and 'bulkiness' of what we export and... import, maritime transport is, and will remain, crucial. This introduces an element of vulnerability, [including from] piracy, smuggling, dumping of toxic waste and marine pollution," he warned.
Globalisation and a new international "scramble for resources", especially in Africa, added to this vulnerability.
South Africa's exports, as a percentage of the total economy, had increased between 1990 and 2005 from 24 percent to 27 percent – a figure that Roux described as "disappointing" in comparison with trends in other developing countries.
Over the same period, imports - which would remain an important part of the South African economy - increased from 19 percent to 29 percent.
Roux noted South Africa was a maritime nation.
"Exports, imports, ports and fishing resources are crucial ingredients of our future growth, development and poverty alleviation.
"Globalisation brings with it additional security challenges and vulnerabilities. Maritime security is a prerequisite for holistic security," he said.
Roux's warning follows one delivered at the same conference by the Chief of the SA Navy, Vice Admiral Refilwe Mudimu, on Tuesday, who said there was a "booming rise" in international maritime trade and shipping, but a paradoxical "countervailing trend of maritime
insecurity in all its facets".
South Africa sat astride a major east-west trade route, but lacked a "cohesive maritime policy", he said.
Governments in the southern African region tended to underestimate the importance of the surrounding oceans and the need to exercise sea power through a viable navy, which was essential to protect the "sea lines of communication" that ensured economic sustainability and trade growth, Mudimu said.
A further warning was also sounded by Helmoed Heitman of Jane's Defence, who in a paper delivered at the conference said most African governments "do not pay sufficient attention to their respective maritime domains".
This neglect was "politically, economically and strategically dangerous", he said.
