Delays at SADC border crossings have created a breeding ground for informal transportation that although evidently illegal and tantamount to the freighting of contraband, is used by legally registered companies to exploit corrupt customs officials through shadowy logistics.
FTW has in recent times visited two intersecting streets in downtown Johannesburg which are described by some customers as the “Zambia precinct”. A block or so away, says John Malherbe*, who regularly makes use of the system, goods can be sent via the same system to cities like Gaborone on “Botswana street”.
“It’s all about where you’re sending stuff to.” For the moment though, Malherbe’s focus is Lusaka where he runs a business. “We used to send goods up to Zambia by conventional means and sometimes it would take two weeks. It was slowly killing our business. Now we deliver in three days or less.” When Malherbe heard through his Zambian contact of ‘alternative transport’ he didn’t have to give it much thought to give it a try.
“We were desperate to speed up the supply chain to our clients, so we took the plunge.” He said it all seemed very risky at first. Goods are dropped off on a sidewalk where ‘personnel’ working for a transport company lounge around, smoking, talking, and signing for the next wrapped bag of cargo to be loaded on the first bus going up north. Clients don’t receive any paperwork confirming that goods have been entrusted to the transport company.
“It all comes down to trust,” Malherbe said. “These people are registered and run trucks the same as everybody else, but they have realised that there are many people who are willing to pay a little more if goods are dropped off sooner – much sooner than is usually the case.” He added that they often used the transporter’s official line of transport because bus-freighted cargo was then consolidated along with items trucked to Lusaka.
“That way at least we have documentation that we can submit to SA Revenue Service (Sars). If we only use the bus then we have to request documentation, but these are only delivered afterwards because it takes some time to get to the ‘right’ people at customs to ‘organise’ things.” Added cost is also charged for fiddling paper work for bused goods. Asked about the spectre of breaking the law, Malherbe said the transporter was professional, personable, and always available if something went wrong.
“And it hardly ever does. The first time I used them they saw that I was fidgety and kept on telling me to relax. Since then I’ve learned that there really is something like informal logistics. They have a system that’s hard to understand but they seem to know where everything is and because their business is based on speed, they know that there’s very little margin for error. Nothing gets lost or stolen. They won’t make money that way.”
When FTW visited the transport kiosk of one of the trucking companies recently, we were told: “We didn’t create corruption, we have just learned how to exploit it. We’re offering a service that’s much faster than conventional freight which is often delayed at the border because some customs officials are lazy and others are corrupt.
“We’re just offering a sideline service that runs alongside the trucks we use.” While talking to FTW, at least three more loads were dropped off for freight to Lusaka: plumbing, several boxes of cold drinks, and a quad bike. These will be wrapped in plastic and loaded as if they are the personal items belonging to the people on the bus. Will the quad bike go the same way? “Yes it will, in a closed trailer behind the bus. And if we’re asked whose it is, we’ll say that we don’t know because we don’t ask all passengers who’s taking what home. It’s their personal business.”
And if a persistent customs official is asking probing questions, “we’ll give them a little something that’s much more than the money they make in a day”, FTW was told. An employee from a clearing bureau added: “We’ve seen the same sort of thing at border posts like Lebombo. Recently we saw how trucks passed right through between South Africa and Mozambique without being stopped.”
In response to the revelations, Sars spokesperson Sicelo Mkosi said: “We’re still consulting, collecting and collating information from various ports of entry to verify and authenticate some of your opinions.” He added that “we are deeply concerned that your questions are based on untested facts. Sars does not respond to rumours, innuendos and unsubstantiated allegations. Otherwise, please provide us with the specifics you have so that we can verify your facts.”
Apart from the picture used to illustrate this article, FTW has several more in its possession proving the existence of informal transport services.
*Malherbe requested to use a pseudonym as he didn’t want to incriminate himself.
Goods being assembled in a downtown warehouse for transport to Lusaka.
