Ali rejects ‘user-pay’ principle

“What would be the cost of supply chain logistics if crucial national highways were not maintained?” This was the question South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) CEO Nazir Ali put to participants in the first South African Shippers’ Council (SASC) speed networking session in Midrand last week. He said major funding was required to maintain and upgrade an ageing national and provincial road network of 618 000 kilometres. “A good road system saves both time and money,” said Ali, referring to the Automobile Association (AA) study which estimates that the average person spends 40 hours per month stuck in traffic. “With 75% of South Africa’s freight currently moved by road, what does an average work week’s lost productivity mean to your business?” he asked. He believes tolls are the only viable option for maintaining the 10thlargest road network in the world – 21 400 kilometres of which are managed by Sanral. “Currently, only 15% of South Africa’s national road network is tolled, which means that the majority of road upgrade and maintenance funding comes from the national treasury,” he said. Current legislation does not allow toll funds to be spent on nontolled roads. Responding to a question around e-toll compliance in Gauteng – which has been put at less than 40% – and rumoured cash flow problems, Ali said the ratios of paying and non-paying road users varied from month to month, “depending on a number of variables”. “But in terms of cash flow, we are doing far better than we predicted.” User-pay system? Commenting on the suggestion of a “user-pay” principle which would see those logistics operators who “abused” the system by overloading trucks or not adhering to other road regulations being penalised more than their compliant counterparts, Ali said it was not practical as it needed much closer policing than was feasible. “Instead, we need to collectively find ways to change the behaviour of the road user,” he said. The South African culture has a high tolerance of what Ali calls “white collar crime” which includes overloading and speeding. INSERT & CAPTION What do you think the cost of supply chain logistics would be if crucial national highways were not maintained? – Nazir Ali