Cross-border operators are watching developments around the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) closely as it could introduce faster border operations and quicker truck turnaround times.
This comes after the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) announced that one of the immediate tasks at hand was to ensure that the tariff schedule listing of all products covered by the agreement for tariff liberalisation and rules of origin was finalised to ensure that the implementation date of 1 July would be met.
Gavin Kelly of the Road Freight Association (RFA) said while there was still a lot of uncertainty over the AfCFTA it did hold promise of improved road transport logistics.
“We have engaged with both the dti and the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA) to give us more clarity on the AfCFTA and what to expect.”
Kelly said while there was still some scepticism over the success of the AfCFTA across industry as well as the expected implementation date, it did in theory promise to improve the operating conditions of transporters.
“But we need to have a full understanding of what we are talking about,” he said. “Is this going to be like the European Union – and if so, what does that mean for our businesses and our industry. Clearly a lot of duties and customs control will disappear which in theory will result in goods moving a lot faster.”
He said while some of the RFA’s pertinent questions had already been addressed there were still some that remained unanswered. “What happens to domicile entities? Are we going to reduce the regulations around having foreign entities operating locally and vice versa? What will that do to local business?”
Kelly said fewer customs checks would be welcomed by industry as many were already of the opinion that there were far too many at present resulting in unnecessary delays when moving cargo around southern Africa.
“There is hope that the AfCFTA will bring some relief in terms of delays at border posts and cutting cost.”
According to Fikile Majola, dti deputy minister, South Africa is working closely with other African states to finalise the details in order to establish a platform that will allow both South Africa and its African counterparts to derive the benefits.
Speaking in Cape Town Majola said there were some opinion-makers who felt the AfCFTA was very ambitious because of the many disparities between the countries’ development stages, especially relating to trade capabilities, infrastructure and administrative frameworks such as competition and intellectual property policies.
