Big Ports & Small Users
We have heard the same noise from the top. Especially so when there is a change of guard. It's all about increasing the port capacity to some staggering numbers. In reality we see all our capacities being abysmally under-utilised. Big ports, big management teams, big Unions, big BOTs, big regulators, and big rules have reduced the end users to smallness of comical insignificance. Under utilisation of port capacities, drops in exports, and imports do not logically call for mindless expansion of capacity. What it calls for is an introspection on the pain points of the industry and try to eliminate them. There are two principal reasons why logic is being sacrificed and mindless capacity expansions are being espoused. First is a straight line thinking of extrapolating the past into the future, without paying a hoot to the present. Second is building big projects to generate big political incentives. It's a 'monkey see monkey do' syndrome of mimicking the capacity building madness of China to justify clever political ideas of generating dirty wealth.
Our ancient labour laws are killing the manufacturing industries. Our ports are hostage to hostile and greedy unions and political meddling. We still inherit mountains of archaic laws to stifle free trade with outside. Our bureaucracy is being pampered into being more and more obstructionist and rent seeking in dispositions. Infrastructure leading to the ports are being paralysed from time to time, by various rent seeking mobs at the behest of political outfits. The genuine investor is being made to bleed, while the shadow investors of political big daddies are given the full freedom to perpetuate their monopoly on roadways. Under such gruelling atmosphere, Potential with a capital 'P' would never become a possibility, even with a small 'p'. Only a fool would build a bigger house, when his very premises are being systematically squatted and squandered. We hope and pray that our leaders look into the real problems rather than seek solace in an illusive capacity building madness. Having said that, I do not propose that capacity building is a bad thing at all. All I say is that it's a bad priority on the face of things today. The things that need urgent fixing.
We have heard the same noise from the top. Especially so when there is a change of guard. It's all about increasing the port capacity to some staggering numbers. In reality we see all our capacities being abysmally under-utilised. Big ports, big management teams, big Unions, big BOTs, big regulators, and big rules have reduced the end users to smallness of comical insignificance. Under utilisation of port capacities, drops in exports, and imports do not logically call for mindless expansion of capacity. What it calls for is an introspection on the pain points of the industry and try to eliminate them. There are two principal reasons why logic is being sacrificed and mindless capacity expansions are being espoused. First is a straight line thinking of extrapolating the past into the future, without paying a hoot to the present. Second is building big projects to generate big political incentives. It's a 'monkey see monkey do' syndrome of mimicking the capacity building madness of China to justify clever political ideas of generating dirty wealth.
Our ancient labour laws are killing the manufacturing industries. Our ports are hostage to hostile and greedy unions and political meddling. We still inherit mountains of archaic laws to stifle free trade with outside. Our bureaucracy is being pampered into being more and more obstructionist and rent seeking in dispositions. Infrastructure leading to the ports are being paralysed from time to time, by various rent seeking mobs at the behest of political outfits. The genuine investor is being made to bleed, while the shadow investors of political big daddies are given the full freedom to perpetuate their monopoly on roadways. Under such gruelling atmosphere, Potential with a capital 'P' would never become a possibility, even with a small 'p'. Only a fool would build a bigger house, when his very premises are being systematically squatted and squandered. We hope and pray that our leaders look into the real problems rather than seek solace in an illusive capacity building madness. Having said that, I do not propose that capacity building is a bad thing at all. All I say is that it's a bad priority on the face of things today. The things that need urgent fixing.
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Brgds
Capt Rath
