Author:nick-poree
SA can’t enforce its way out of the road safety crisis August 1, 2026 South Africa’s road safety crisis is not caused by one failure. Rather, writes NICK PORÉE, it stems from fragmented education, engineering, enforcement, evaluation and governance that urgently require coordinated national reform and professional leadership… right now. The term “road safety” is a catch-all description for a desired condition that results from a wide range of positive and negative interactions. Achieving an optimum level of safety requires […]
Who will repair South Africa’s trucks, machines and infrastructure? July 10, 2026 NICK PORÉE examines South Africa’s deepening skills shortage, warning that failing education, dwindling technical and engineering expertise and intensifying global competition for talent threaten transport, industry and economic recovery. South Africa’s economy is in a state of “managed decline” and is laying the foundation for future economic failure through myopic and internally focused policy decisions. The economic crisis is the result of a systematic restriction of the national capacity […]
Durban’s port and the race to stay competitive June 2, 2026 Durban’s economic future is inseparable from the fortunes of its port. As ageing infrastructure, mounting congestion and outdated logistics systems place growing pressure on trade, NICK PORÉE warns that long-term investment and integrated planning are becoming increasingly urgent. eThekwini and the Port of Durban have suffered from the same prolonged decline in maintenance, management and modernisation that has characterised much of South Africa’s public infrastructure over the past four […]
SA’s National Rail Master Plan: Doomed to derail? May 6, 2026 South Africa’s National Rail Master Plan promises reform and renewal, yet critical gaps raise serious concerns. Can rail regain its freight relevance, or will structural flaws undermine this ambitious strategy? NICK PORÉE highlights the major risks… South Africa was for many years dependent on the railways for long-haul freight and passenger transport due to the political suppression of competition by the private sector. This was achieved by monopolising railways […]
A vacuum at the wharf? March 20, 2026 From April 2026, the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) plans to move expertise from South Africa’s ports to a centralised executive. NICK PORÉE asks, is this the right path to choose? While this centralisation of capacity and decision-making aligns with current dirigiste government strategic planning by the National Logistics Crisis Committee (NLCC) and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), it does pose potential challenges. The decision will leave […]
Is ignorance truly bliss? April 8, 2026 As the world’s logistics networks grow smarter and more connected, South Africa’s transport sector remains trapped in a fog of missing data, institutional neglect and deliberate ignorance. NICK PORÉE unpacks the situation. In a world of increasing information overload, digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI) and media availability, the gap between developed economies and less sophisticated regions is widening. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of transport and logistics, where the seamless […]
Derailed by design? February 19, 2026 South Africa wants its railways back; the target is 250 million tonnes a year by 2030. The obstacles are enormous, the policy is cloudy and the private sector is unconvinced. This, writes NICK PORÉE, is the story of a modal shift that may never shift. From 2024, the recapitalisation of Transnet from the national fiscus has been supporting a gradual recovery of bulk freight tonnages on rail and improved efficiency at ports. Current plans […]
Beit Bridge set to become OSBP February 3, 2026 The recent decision by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Border Management Agency to convert the Beit Bridge border post into a One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) could be good news for the trucking industry. But, warns NICK PORÉE, only if it includes very significant modernisation of freight procedures and operational efficiency. A recent press release from the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) raises concerns, however, as it contains […]
Open letter to the Minister of Transport February 3, 2026 Nick Porée, managing director of Nick Porée and Associates (NP&A) and FOCUS columnist, has written this open letter to Barbara Creecy, South Africa’s Minister of Transport. It will resonate with many of our readers… In 2026, it will be 40 years since the National Transport Policy Study (1986), which resolved the logistics impasse of the time by enabling the private sector to transport approximately 85% of freight by road – […]
Boom or Bust: Costing Road Freight Operations January 27, 2026 Costing road freight operations can be a formidable undertaking, but the extent to which operators get it right can make or break the business. NICK PORÉE unpacks the intricacies of these critical procedures. There is a quote from an Australian “truckie” that aptly sums up the pressures of managing one’s own transport operations: “When I worked for a firm, I was pressured and stressed, but since I started my own […]
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