Author:nick-poree
From bottlenecks to breakthroughs: The blueprint for eThekwini’s future July 25, 2025 As eThekwini looks ahead to 2055, a bold, long-term plan is urgently needed – one that prioritises commercial competitiveness, integrated logistics, and meaningful economic participation, not dependence. NICK PORÉE presents a comprehensive proposal for a sustainable regional future. Recent announcements that South Africa is to spend its way out of poverty evoke Churchill’s famous allegory of a man standing in a bucket, trying to lift himself out of […]
Really thinking BIG about logistics July 2, 2025 South Africa’s logistics crisis is draining the economy daily, yet plans for revival risk repeating past failures. NICK PORÉE explains why urgent, radical reforms – not timid tweaks – are the only real solution. At the recent PSG “Think Big” webinar, Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy presented the government’s plans to recover South Africa’s logistics disaster. She admitted that the task is a challenge, even with her reputation as a “doer” who […]
Vindication, exoneration, and excuses: The antonyms of accountability June 22, 2025 Despite decades of policy, NICK PORÉE reports that South Africa’s freight transport sector remains dangerously unregulated – undermined by political neglect, systemic corruption, and chronic failure in driver and vehicle oversight. The road freight industry in South Africa was released from quantitative (supply-side) regulation in 1987 and was supposed to be regulated by a Road Transport Quality System (RTQS). Due to industry interference and official ignorance of international best […]
State interference: Quietly killing industry May 20, 2025 As South Africa faces mounting economic challenges, is it time to return to pure economic principles? NICK PORÉE explores how unchecked bureaucracy is crippling industry, competition, and national growth. A simple classification of society by primary economic functions identifies three categories: producers (industry), consumers (customers), and administrators (government as regulators). Producers strive to make profits and survive by earning customer satisfaction; consumers strive to make the best choices in the goods and […]
US aid cut: A wake-up call for SA? April 16, 2025 The withdrawal of US aid exposes deep flaws in South Africa’s economic management. NICK PORÉE says that, with bloated government salaries draining resources, infrastructure failing, and transport systems in crisis, urgent reform and private investment are the only solutions. The new US Republican elephant (clearly in musth) might still turn out to be a white elephant for the US. But his overreactions certainly touch on the woke, and delicately […]
Will TRIM solve or sustain Transnet’s woes? March 3, 2025 South Africa’s logistics crisis stems from Transnet’s failure in managing railways and ports. The TRIM plan claims to enable private-sector rail access, but NICK PORÉE warns that it could merely be an attempt to recover Transnet’s losses, keeping it reliant on fiscal bailouts and monopoly pricing. South Africa is struggling with a logistics crisis, primarily caused by the failure of the state-owned company (SOC), Transnet, in managing railways and ports. […]
The ways of the railways February 24, 2025 South Africa’s railway story is a tale of government control, missed opportunities, and monopolistic challenges. NICK PORÉE discusses how policy decisions shaped the transport sector and the rise of road freight – and how private sector inclusion might revitalise this critical infrastructure. The editorial of the This is SAR handbook in 1977 provided clarifications of the railway managerial perspectives on the provision of port and transport services to the country. The perspectives […]
Costs versus expenses December 30, 2024 In any discussion of vehicle operating costs we must make the distinction between “costs” (which are incurred as a continual process) and “expenditure” (payments and orders). Failure to recognise the difference is a major reason for the demise of new transport businesses, explains NICK PORÉE. A new or quality used vehicle may run for some time requiring only payments for fuel and some servicing. It may seem to make a handsome profit. There are, […]
Freight operations management demystified January 10, 2025 It is extremely challenging to manage freight transport. NICK PORÉE demystifies the process with some easy-to-follow pointers The transport of goods is the part of the production process that takes place in the public space instead of inside business premises. The management of freight transport is challenging due to regulations pertaining to the vehicles, drivers, and operations designed to protect the infrastructure and ensure road safety. The management process is complicated by the […]
Railway restructuring is critical January 14, 2025 While increased competition and private sector involvement could theoretically improve efficiency, NICK PORÉE writes that the restructuring of the railways must precede any significant change, while current strategic manoeuvring indicates an unwillingness to relax Transnet SOC monopoly control. Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association (RFA), raises some important points regarding the potential impact of opening up South Africa’s rail network to third-party operators. However, in order to create real “Open Access”, […]
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