SOUTH AFRICA’S MARITIME INDUSTRY AND MARITIME EDUCATION AND TRAINING
3.6 THE PROVINCE OF KWAZULU-NATAL
3.6.5 STATE (GOVERNMENT) INSTITUTIONS SUPPORTING MARITIME SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY IN KZN DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY IN KZN
3.6.5.2 The Role of Local Government in the Maritime Industry in KZN
Local government in South Africa, is the sphere of government consists of municipalities; A, B and C in which executive and legislative authority is vested in its Municipal Council. It is government closest to the people. Municipalities have the right to govern, on their own initiatives, their local government affairs of their communities, subject to national and provincial legislation, as provided for in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. This means that national or provincial government may not compromise or impede a municipality's ability or right to exercise
(a). To provide democratic and accountable government for local communities;
(b). To ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner;
(c). To promote social and economic development;
(d). To promote a safe and healthy environment; and
(e). To encourage the involvement of communities and community organisations in the matters of local government.
Municilaities in the four, of the nine provinces in South Africa which are coastal benefit immersly from the maritime industry. However, some municipalities, including those in the coast, in the country stuggle to effectively achieve some of their objectives, such as for example safe and healthy envirobnments and economic development also refered to as Local Economic Development (LED).
Safety and security is key in the maritime industry and because KZN is a coastal province and benefits immensely from two ports, one being the busiest and fourth-largest port in the Southern Hemisphere (KZN DEDTEA, 2013). These ports do not only have a economic advantage to the local municipalites they fall within but alsopose a safety and health risk. As a result, according to South Africa’s Draft Maritime Policy (2017), South Africa’s Department of Transport together with local government;
…shall investigate and implement enforcement training for municipal law enforcement officers to expand their powers to enforce the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act and the regulations pertaining to small vessels.
On the other hand because effective LED remains a key challenge for municiplaities in South Africa which has been due to, but not limited to the lack of or slow LED. Challenges such as high levels of unemployment, especially in previously disadvanged local communities such as rural and township areas remains one of the key stumbling blocks in achieving economic development at local government level. To address this, in provinces such as KZN, the maritime industry has been identified as a key component that can be used. This stems from national and provincial government policies such as Operation Phakisa and the NDP which aim at socio-economic transformation.
Municiplaities such as eThekwini Municipality according to Coller, Maasdorp and Mavundla (2007), are highly dependent on the maritime industry and have the ability to compete internationally for their economic growth and well-being. Thus, the industry ought to be key in the local municipality’s economic agendas, especially those along the coast in KZN, although municipalities do not have any direct control over many elements of the maritime industry in the province because Transnet, owns and operates the ports (South Africa’s Draft Maritime Policy, 2017).
Irrespective of the limited municipal role relating directly to ports, local government is however a key stakeholders within the broader maritime industry in KZN. This is as a result of the municipalities are responsible for the provision of services, such as spatial and development planning, the maintenance and development of new roads, as well as making sure that the business environment is conducive to future growth. Hence municipalities are key stakeholders and in KZN’s maritime economic centres such as Richards Bay and Durban, the local government is included within engagements between maritime stakeholders and within port-related committees (KZN DEDTEA, 2013).
Coller, Maasdorp and Mavundla (2007:54), identified that the “strategic issues facing the local maritime industry and the importance of the industry to both the local and the national economies demand that the industry move positively towards operating as a unified force”. They were of the view that because the the local maritime industry in Durban/eThekwini was substantial in size already, what was needed was a process which would ensure a state of greater unification and collective decision making as a result, felt that the creation of a Maritime Institute would be the required. Such an insituttion was seen as one which would have assisted at local government level in the futher development, the promotion and sustainability of the maritime industry. To date the eThekwini Maritime Cluster (EMC) is such an insitutute and is the only government institute at local government level that is involved in the promotion, development and sustainability of maritime skills and the broader maritime industry.
Thus, the role of South Africa’s local government in the maritime industry in their areas of influence, together with their respective port communities should be to promote the concept of
EMC promotes the maritime industry because it has the potential to become a major industry in South Africa that generates large-scale employment and foreign exchange (South Africa’s Department of Transport, 2017).
Coastal local government in provinces such KZN should thus try and play a key role in the maritime industry, this can be achieved, by means of aligning their policies such as the Intergrated Development Plans (IDPs) and LED strategies to national governments maritime initative, Operation Phakisa. If this alignment is achieved, where all the three spheres of government from national, provincial to local government work in sync economic transformation can be a reality through Operation Phakisa initative and the NDP.
3.6.5.2 (i) eThekwini Maritime Cluster
The eThekwini Maritime Cluster (EMC) is a government Section 21 company, named after KZN’s municipality that is home to the provinces most vibrant maritime industry, was created to improve performance and competitiveness of the maritime industry in the province of KZN. As a non- profit institution, it is mandated to promote and support the province’s maritime industry. It advocates and champions for the maritime industry through bridging the gap between industrial policy from government and the private sector, thereby unleashing the economic growth in the maritime industry.
The eThekwini Maritime Cluster which focuses on maritime skills development, enterprise development, ship building and repair, knowledge management, and industry promotion, has been financially supported by the province. In promoting and marketing areas such as Durban as a thriving port city, its work includes hosting workshops, conferences, and events to provide networking opportunities and to facilitate knowledge and port information-sharing, promoting maritime career awareness. Encouraging youngsters to consider a career within the sector and providing the necessary skills training for those who have already graduated, is vital for the industry. A very real shortage of critical skills and managerial knowledge in the near future is looming large on the horizon (eThekwini Municipality, 2011). The way to overcome this, according to eThekwini Municipality (2011), is through developing the City of Durban as a Centre
•Improves education and training for the maritime industry to enable talented people to enter the industry;
•Assists unemployed graduates to obtain experience in and of the maritime industry by coaching, mentoring, empowering, and training graduates during the graduate placement process; and
• Creates awareness among learners of career opportunities in the maritime sector and its requirements.
The role played coastal local government such as eThekwini Municiplaity and uMhlathuze Municipality through the EMC in KZN’s the maritime industry is similar to that of China’s coastal local government in Guangdong province. Which sees the the maritime industry as a new axis for their economic development informed by local circustances and national government policy shift away from an export-led growth model (Yoshikawa, 2016). The EMC in KZN, as a maritime institute at local government level can be seen as that which aligns local government objectives such as economic development with national policies to address both local and national development imperatives. Operation Phakisa’s role in addressing challenges such as slow economic growth and high unemployment is a national strategy that has been made possible and felt at local and provincial government level through institutions such as EMC and DEDTEA in KZN. Coastal provinces and local governments should see the Operation Phakisa initative as an important opportunity for their development.
Summary
In summary, the litecture in this cahpter has identified that South Africa’s maritime industry is broad, developing and the lifeblood of the country’s economy. However, central to this is its issues pertaining to maritime skills gaps. The core value of MET institutions is to provide the supply of manpower per short-period courses through to post-graduate studies to the shipping and shipping- related industries (Demirel and Mehta, 2009). As a result, MET has taken centre stage, in addressing issues relating to the development of KZN’s and the broader South African maritime industry.
The literature indicates that, on a secondary level and further education training (FET) level, the lack of resources, such as human capital − teaching staff/teachers, financial lacks in the form of funding maritime courses, and physical lacks, which include facilities, are principal stumbling blocks. All these obstacles pose a serious threat to South Africa’s MET system.
At State (government) level, Kujawa (1996) acknowledged distortions, and is of the view that distortions caused by past policies may be overcome by adequately coordinated MET development which will result in the fulfilment of the needs of the employers and the maritime manpower needs of South Africa. The lack of coordinated MET in South Africa has weakened and continues to undermine the development of the country’s MET system. Future-oriented strategies ought firstly to address past injustices and problems in MET; however, not at a cost to current and future opportunities. Government has placed too much emphasis on racial transformation and gender equity within the industry and the fulfilment of domestic needs. This has proved detrimental because:
• The people who are meant to be the beneficiaries of racial transformation and equity in the sector are either not taking advantage of such opportunities or are not even aware of the sector;
• The country has tried to enter the global economic community built on free international trade by looking after its own domestic needs. This has been an error in the understanding of globalisation;
• The country did not build on existing institutions and capitalise on existing key role players such as Safmarine; and
• Domestic maritime manpower consumption has not been well estimated (Ruggunan, 2010).
These factors have all contributed to the current state of South Africa’s maritime workforce (Ruggunan, 2010). Nevertheless, the quandaries confounding MET are born of factors that are economic, social, technological and political in the environment (Alexandrov, 1999). The literature focusing on the subject matter suggests that investigating such complex difficulties which MET is experiencing at public higher education institutions through a holistic manner would prove fruitful.