Santaco plan to launch passenger liner

19 Sep 2011

The South African National Taxi Association's airline made its maiden flight last week when a plane carrying a number of passengers, government officials, businessmen and media representatives flew from Lanseria to Bisho.

The new airline has had to bear the brunt of cartoonists' pens since plans to launch a new scheduled passenger service were announced by the taxi organisation. Not happy with taking on the airline industry, Santaco has now announced that it will also launch a passenger liner to ferry people around the South African coast.

According to Santaco's president, Jabulani Mthembu the association wants to take ownership of the entire public transport arena, whether it is by road, rail, plane or ship.

Mthembu's announcement comes at a time when South Africa's Transport Minister, Sibusiso Ndebele lamented the fact that there is not a single passenger liner or cargo vessel registered in this country.

Of course the major South African company responsible for cargo in South Africa is Safmarine and Jonathan Horn, the company's regional executive for Africa says that the continent continues to be an attractive investment destination for those companies or individuals who are willing to take a long-term view.

He says that Africa needs investors who add value to the people of Africa while providing strong returns for shareholders. Safmarine is a member of the AP Moller-Maersk Group.

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Paddy Hartdegen

About Paddy Hartdegen

Paddy Hartdegen has been working as a journalist and writer for the past 40 years since his first article was published in the Sunday Tribune when he was just 16-years-old. He has written 13 books, edited a plethora of business-to-business publications and written for most of the major newspapers in South Africa.