Date: 17/01/2007
Source: Department of Transport
Title: Radebe: Gala Dinner of International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretary-General visit
Address at the gala dinner to mark the visit of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretary-General by Mr Jeff Radebe (MP), Minister of Transport, Cape Town Convention Centre
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
Title: Radebe: Gala Dinner of International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretary-General visit
Address at the gala dinner to mark the visit of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretary-General by Mr Jeff Radebe (MP), Minister of Transport, Cape Town Convention Centre
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
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