J Radebe: Gala Dinner of International Maritime Organisation (IMO)
Secretary-General visit

17 January 2007

Secretary-General of the IMO
SA High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Lindiwe Mabhuza
Members of the diplomatic corps
Members of media
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentleman

I must say it has been a hectic week for the IMO Secretary-General, Mr
Mitropoulos, since his arrival in South Africa on Sunday. Most of you should be
aware by now that when we talk about international trade and development and
economic growth we encompass various modes of transport that include aviation,
rail, road and maritime and their respective infrastructure.

For centuries upon centuries, people believed that the planet's surface
consisted almost entirely of earth and rocks with the exceptions of some small
bodies of water, such as the Mediterranean. If they had known then that almost
three-quarters of their planet were covered with water, they might more
correctly have named it Ocean.

Here we concern ourselves with a human being, the sailor. We now know that
there were sailors before there were farmers and shepherds; that there were
ships before people had settled in villages and made the first pottery.
Seafaring has been a vital part of human history and progress for simple
reason. The most efficient means for moving people and materials in any
quantity is by flotation in some sort of craft in the water. If the cargo
consisted of large and heavy pieces, which neither men nor beasts of burden
could carry, then a ship was the answer.

This week we managed to engage the IMO Secretary-General and various
representatives from the maritime industry because of the role that this
industry contributes to the transportation of goods and people, thereby
boosting the economy. The commissioning of the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination
Centre (MRCC) in South Africa should meet the obligations of economic growth in
the region and globally and showcase the role of the maritime industry to the
economy. We are doing this hoping that five years down the line we should be
able to relate the positive results that transportation in the maritime
industry will bring to all of us.

It is disheartening that the majority of developing countries of Africa,
Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean still have poorly developed maritime
transport systems in spite of the fact that history chronicles these continents
as the cradle of ancient shipping. The very ancient mariners of Egypt, the
Fertile Crescent, the African Coast, India, China and Southeast Asia had passed
their trade down through the ages to their descendants.

Of course, lack of industrial and manufacturing capacity ensured that the
developing states would also have to depend on international shipping for all
or most of their imports, which were continually increasing owing to
northern-style marketing tactics, which assured ever-increasing consumer
demands for imported goods. The fact that a United Nations (UN) organisation
would eventually lay down a "code of conduct" in a so far unsuccessful attempt
to regulate these practices, demonstrate the greater need to work even harder
to transform the shipping industry and address the developmental needs of the
least developed states.

The idea of creating a new intergovernmental body, IMCO (which later
transformed to IMO), was a welcome step for most of the developing maritime
states. Obviously, it was not altogether in the interests of the maritime
states to see a UN organisation established that was solely concerned with
international shipping and had any capacity other than a purely advisory or
technical one, since they believed that the IMO might become an international
regulatory agency, which might take a very serious look at traditional shipping
methods.

An examination of South Africa's role in the IMO and conversely, the impact
that IMO's programme have on South Africa's developmental strategies, is
exceedingly important as we attempt to break the spine of binding constraints
that adversely affect the rate and mode of our growth.

I would like to welcome everyone to this evening's function bearing in mind
how crucial is the maritime industry; it is destined to pave a brighter future
for all of us and our future generations.

Welcome and enjoy the dinner!

Issued by: Department of Transport
17 January 2007
Source: Department of Transport (http://www.transport.gov.za)