Guest

EDITOR:

1. Before you read the latest response from the Nelson Mandela Bay Chamber of Commerce to our City and all it’s fuel users ONCE AGAIN being penalised for an action that was NOT CAUSED by them….. Let me use the words that everyone else is using; “We are being SCREWED by Transnet who in addition DO NOT take responsibility for the damage to our roads by the hundreds of Manganese Trucks daily are also very CAVALIER with our health and the health of of tourism industry by refusing to remove the Manganes Ore Dump AND the Fuel Tank Farm from a prime piece of land that was GIFTED to them by the City!”
2. Add the estimated R50 Million in additional monthly fuel cost to the estimated R24 Million monthly we continue to pay as a result of the Punitive Water Tariffs that the municipality REFUSES to lift and you can see why this festive season will not be so!

Now, here follows Chamber CEO Denise van Huyssteen’s response to the fuel pricing adjustments announced today:

“The Chamber notes with concern that the latest fuel pricing adjustments (effective 04 December 2024) continue to penalise Nelson Mandela Bay consumers for the cost of hauliers transporting fuel via road from East London, due to the berth at the Port Elizabeth port not being operational.” “It is our understanding that completion of the repair of the berth, which was planned for the 6th of December, has been revised to the 11th of December. It remains unclear however by exactly when the fuel berth will become fully operational again.”

“We estimate that since the rezoning of Nelson Mandela Bay as an inland zone in October of this year, an irrecoverable direct loss to the local economy of approximately R50 million per month has been incurred. Following tomorrow’s fuel price adjustment local consumers will accumulatively be paying R2.49 more per litre for 95 unleaded fuel, diesel and paraffin versus what they would have paid if the area was still a coastal zone.”

“It is our view that the additional costs incurred to date in transporting these fuels into the area by road has been unfairly passed on to businesses, consumers, commuters and local communities. None of these key stakeholders were consulted prior to the rezoning by the Minister of Minerals and Petroleum Products. Businesses, consumers, commuters and local communities have been made to bear the brunt of a shipping vessel accident, not caused by them, by paying inflated prices for fuel and indirectly for other goods and services.”

“We believe that this pricing structure is supposed to be temporary in nature, and that once the fuel berth is repaired, the area will return back to its former allotted zone. We therefore urge the relevant role players to accelerate efforts in this regard to ensure that Nelson Mandela Bay can be reinstated as a coastal fuel pricing zone from January 2025,” Van Huyssteen concludes.

Background information

The fuel berth at the Port Elizabeth Port was damaged in June of this year, resulting in industry hauliers having to transport fuel via road from East London to Nelson Mandela Bay.

The Department of Minerals and Petroleum Resources, in response to the additional costs associated with transporting the fuel to the metro, then decided to implement revised transport tariffs in October, November and now December 2024 for petrol, diesel and paraffin for Nelson Mandela Bay and surrounding areas.  This resulted in interim zone changes in the affected areas, to allow the industry hauliers to recover their fuel transportation costs.

In the best interests of our members, consumers and communities, the Chamber took action by filing an urgent review application in October, to gain access to the information which informed the Minister’s decision and have since received the record of decision from the Department.

From the records received it would appear that the Minister did not consider any other options to mitigate the impact of the issue on consumers, but rather focused solutions on addressing the additional transport supply costs and the recovery thereof.

More over we remain concerned, that this potentially creates a precedent for the state to simply transfer its obligations to innocent parties without taking accountability and without regard to the right to administrative justice which is enshrined in our Constitution.

While we have achieved success in putting pressure on the Minister, as well as Transnet to accelerate the repair of the berth at the Port Elizabeth Port and return the metro back to being part of a coastal pricing zone, we are extremely disappointed that consumers and businesses continue to carry additional costs through the fuel price adjustments to fund this.  It casts doubt that the berth, which is earmarked to be repaired by the 6 th of December, may potentially not achieve this deadline.

As we are a non-profit organisation, the Chamber decided to reach a settlement with the Minister, whereby through a court order it has been agreed that Nelson Mandela Bay will revert back to being part  of the coastal zone once the berth is operational again.  The Minister was not willing to make this adjustment for the December fuel price adjustment, indicating the low confidence levels in the berth becoming operational timeously and which has since become a reality with the completion date being moved forward.

Friday, 29 November 2024, marked a historical milestone as the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber toasted its 160th anniversary during its Annual Banquet held at the Sun Boardwalk Hotel and Convention, which was attended by 850 guests. The banquet is the Chamber’s largest flagship event which provides an opportunity to reflect on progress achieved in the year and to recognise and show appreciation for the contributions of its members.

Delivering his speech during the event, Chamber President Siyolo Dick highlighted the transformative changes the Chamber has undergone in the last three years, shifting from a traditional role to an action orientated and interventionist approach.

“As we reflect on this, the Chamber has evolved overtime as the business environment changed. However, we are now at a point where change is happening so fast that we are leaping from evolution to revolution. We are working off a clean slate and are making it up as we go along, aligned along common values and goals, all focused on positive change and making a difference,” Dick said. 

Dick also emphasised that the business community could no longer stand on the sidelines and complain, and wait for government and politicians to do the right thing. “I’m happy that this Chamber has been trailblazing an alternative path through our efforts to resurge the Bay. We have been rolling up our sleeves to help get things done and providing technical expertise where we can. We do this because we know if the basics are working, the investment and employment will automatically flow from this,” he says.

He further elaborated that the Chamber believed in the immense potential of Nelson Mandela Bay and this was reflected in its drive to unlock the Bay of Opportunity.

Dick said “We believe in our Bay and its people, and are pushing to make sure that our priorities, such as the two ports and the North to South rail corridor, are on the national agenda. As the Chamber, we will collaborate with whoever is committed to doing the right thing.”

Chamber chief executive officer Denise van Huyssteen echoed this vision, praising the critical role played by member companies and their employees in enabling the Chamber to accelerate its efforts and impact this year.

“It is clear to me that the strength of our Bay is our amazing people and this is what sets us apart from anywhere else. Yes we have challenges but we have a united business community who are prepared to take action to achieve common goals,” said Van Huyssteen.

She called for continued mobilisation, collaboration and action to accelerate the impact of key Chamber initiatives, as it radically shifts from “evolution to revolution” to unlock the potential of the Bay of Opportunity.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber awarded outstanding leaders from its geographical clusters and task teams yesterday for volunteering their time and expertise to help create an enabling environment in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Commenting on the recognitions, Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber chief executive officer Denise van Huyssteen said that the Chamber’s success with its action orientated approach in various key initiatives has been achieved due to the incredible work of volunteers.

“Often this work happens behind the scenes, without the individuals seeking any recognition. In fact, I would venture to say the biggest asset which we have in the Bay is our people. We may have wide urban sprawl but if you look at the way the Chamber has been able to mobilise the business community into action, we really have achieved something special and remarkable,” said Van Huyssteen.

Among the award recipients, Paola Horak, Director of Grindstone Property Management, received the Operational Sustainability Award for her extensive involvement in getting the clusters off the ground and supporting their key initiatives Tati Tsunke, Chairperson of the Beachfront Cluster and General Manager of the Boardwalk Hotel, was recognised for his exemplary leadership in driving collaboration and action.

Angus Clark, Struandale Cluster Lead and Senior Manager at Isuzu Motors, was commended for helping to address infrastructure challenges related to electricity outages. David Mertens also received recognition for his work on municipal electricity tariffs, successfully mitigating substantial increases that would have impacted domestic and industrial users. His intervention resulted in savings of well over R600 million for the current tariff year.

Basil Mugwagwa and Gary Koekemoer were honored for their leadership in helping to improve the metro’s sanitation system through collaboration with the municipality. Mugwagwa is the Lead for the Water and Sanitation Task Team and currently the Head of Engineering at Aspen Pharmacare. Koekemoer is a Climate Change Consultant and the Lead for the Chamber’s Low Carbon Economy workstream for the Local Economy Reinvention Think Tank. “Their work included an assessment of the system, the development of plans to address issues and ongoing technical support. This resulted in driving the improvement in the efficiency of the system from 15% to over 80%,” said Van Huyssteen.

Kelvin Naidoo, the Overall Think Tank Lead and Quinton Uren, the Co-Lead, both received Visionary Awards for demonstrating strategic vision and dedication which has enabled the Think Tank to progress, while ensuring that the various volunteers working in the various workstreams are getting ahead of the curve. This is critical to saving and creating investment and jobs in our local manufacturing economy.

Naidoo is the Vice President of the Chamber and currently Technical Director at Auto X. Uren leads the Altermotive workstream and is the Managing Director of Jendamark.

“These recognitions underscore the Chamber’s commitment to mobilising the business community for positive change in Nelson Mandela Bay. To all the winners today, we would like to extend our warm gratitude for the sterling work you do for the Chamber as this aligns with our vision of positioning the metro as the Bay of Opportunity,” Van Huyssteen concluded.  

The Chamber also handed out the Entrepreneur of the Year award to The Eco Laundry as the 2024 winner. The business provides environmentally conscious laundry services through energy-efficient and self-heating machines with advanced aqua-mixer technology that allows the company to reduce water and energy consumption. The owner, Michiko Mavunga, received various prizes, from MTN and Action Coach, including a R100 000 grant funding towards the purchase of equipment and machinery sponsored by Standard Bank.

To date, the Chamber has established eleven clusters, all driven by a team of committed business leaders from a common geographical area who come together to address operational problems within the sectors of the Bay. Task Teams run by the Chamber cover the priority areas of electricity, water, sanitation, transport and logistics, disaster management, safety and security and business enablement.