5 minute read
Operation Phakisa: The Oceans Economy
Unlocking The Potential In South Africa’s Oceans
By Shumirai Chimombe
The Wealth Within The Waters
In 2014, the South African Government launched Operation Phakisa for the Oceans Economy, a national initiative to fast track development in the maritime sector.
This is part of the broader Operation Phakisa initiative designed to implement priority development programmes more effectively. “Phakisa” means “hurry up” in Sesotho, indicating the government’s urgency to address the pressing issues highlighted in the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 such as poverty, unemployment and inequality. South Africa has a coastline that spans over 3000 km and is surrounded by three oceans, namely the Atlantic, Indian and
Southern oceans. This makes it strategically located on one of the world’s major shipping routes which is critical to global marine transportation. It is the strategic African hub for maritime operations in the South-South trade corridor from Asia to the East Coast of South America, and for the connector routes along the East and West coasts of Africa.
The coastal waters support thousands of jobs across various ocean-based industries. Stats SA reported that the number of persons employed in the ocean (marine) fisheries and related services industry in 2019 was 16 744, and the total income was R17,6-billion. The figure represents an annualised percentage increase of 8,1% over the total income reported in 2017 (R15-billion).
Add to that, as one of the most biodiverse marine nations in the world with 13 000 species recorded in its waters, together with its extensive coastline, South Africa’s oceans and beaches are also a global tourist attraction contributing billions to the economy. Yet the vast wealth within the oceans remains to be fully explored.
Unlocking The Potential Of The Waters
Operation Phakisa aims to harness the potential of several priority areas within the oceans economy, with the sector expected to contribute between R129-billion and R177-billion to the GDP and create just over one million jobs by 2033, according to the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).
The six priority growth areas or workstreams that have been identified to boost economic grown in oceans economy are:
Aquaculture
The aquaculture sector has high growth potential due to the increasing demand for fish. It also offers significant opportunities for rural development especially for the marginalised coastal communities. The areas that have been identified for growth include selecting 24 projects such as fish farms across the country, creating an enabling regulatory environment, funding support, increasing the skills pool in the sector, and improving access to markets.
Coastal And Marine Tourism
This work-stream will identify high impact coastal tourism initiatives and projects, as well as to explore the potential of non-urban coastal tourism.
Marine Protection And Ocean Governance
South Africa has jurisdiction over a very large exclusive economic zone extending one and a half million square kilometres. With such a large ocean jurisdiction, it is critical to have effective governance. This workstream aims to develop an overarching, integrated ocean governance framework for the sustainable growth of the ocean economy. The plan also includes protecting the ocean environment from illegal activities, and to promote its multiple economic benefits
Marine Transport And Manufacturing
This area focuses on the opportunities to exploit Africa’s strategic location, its infrastructure and skills base.. Each year about 300 million tons of cargo moves through its ports in imports and exports and about 1.2 million tonnes of liquid fuels move along the coast, while the rapidly expanding offshore oil and gas activities require a supporting fleet of vessels.
South Africa is ideally positioned to serve the East-West cargo traffic and the booming African offshore oil and gas industry, through marine manufacturing, which includes ship and rig repair, refurbishment and boatbuilding. This workstream has developed initiatives that aim to expand the country’s capacity for repair work for oil ships and oil rigs; increase the local manufacturing capacity using local components for boat and ship building; and increase the amount of minerals exported on South African ships.
Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration
South Africa’s coast and adjoining waters have extensive oil and natural gas resources that have not yet been fully exploited. This workstream aims to create an enabling environment to increase investor confidence in this capital-intensive sector, such as developing a legislative framework governing offshore oil and gas to benefit all parties including government, industry, and society. It will also take advantage of the research opportunities presented by offshore oil and gas explorations to identify data ecosystems, marine resources, and ocean related renewable energy.
Small Harbour Development
This workstream will develop small harbours that have the potential for harbour infrastructure, marine and offshore aquaculture, small town precinct development, tourism and job creation. It will be centred on the towns Boegoebaai, Cape St Francis, Hibberden, Port Alfred, Port Edward, Port Grosvenor, Port Nolloth, Port Shepstone, and Port St Johns. It is expected that this could create up to 12 000 new jobs and contribute significantly to the GDP.
Enabling The Progress of Operation Phakisa
Two cross-cutting focus areas have been identified to enable developing the six focus areas.
Skills Development and Capacity Building
The South Africa International Maritime Institute (SAIMI) was established to coordinate all skills and capacity building activities. The institute was awarded a R296-million grant to establish the National Cadet Programme. This offers practical training and seatime experience with international shipping lines, enabling maritime students to obtain internationally recognised STCW (Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping) qualifications and become globally sought-after seafarers.
Research, Technology and Innovation
The South African Marine Research and Exploration Forum (SAMREF) was established to facilitate new collaborative offshore studies to increase knowledge of the offshore marine environment related to renewable energy potential, marine biodiversity and ecology, climate change and ecosystem functioning.
