SA gateway status lost

DRAWBACK: CRUMBLING INFRASTRUCTURE, DYSFUNCTIONAL PORTS

- Eric Mthobeli Naki

» Analyst says nation can benefit from Brics because of its geostrategic position.

South Africa is no longer the gateway to Africa for trade with the outside world because of its dilapidated goods transportation infrastructure, from freight, ports and rail networks that are dysfunctional.

International relations analyst Jan Venter from North-West University, said the country had gone backwards on infrastructure essential to facilitate trade and investment. But China could help fill the gap.

South Africa was billed as a gateway to Africa when it joined the international community in 1994. "Unfortunately, that is no longer the case, many other countries now have potential to be the gateway to Africa for goods to flow in an industrial scale."