On the eve of a team of special envoys heading to Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Tanzania – as part of efforts by President Cyril Ramaphosa to undo the damage caused by the recent spate of xenophobic attacks that claimed 12 lives in South Africa – issues beleaguering transporters on the north-south corridor serving the Southern African Development Community persist. And although the attacks of violent hatred aimed at foreign nationals living and working in South Africa have died down, with incidents of truck burning off the radar – for now, the plight of road hauliers serving this crucial corridor connecting copperbelt miners with the Port of Durban is nowhere near resolved. As in recent times, the main crossing of Kasumbalesa, located south-east of Lubumbashi on the DRC’s border with Zambia, remains congested as systems failures and other customs delays affect south-bound journeys. Last week, one of FTW’s sources said that the Sydonia customs software system had frequently gone offline, leading to a backup north of the border. Compounding matters were inspections and supportive capacity constraints around the use of electronic seals for cargo checking and customs safeguarding purposes. Commenting on the causes of the current congestion, Mike Fitzmaurice, CEO of the Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations, said: “If it isn’t seals that are unavailable, then they are not charged or someone is not there to put them on or take them off. All the systems are slow.” Intermittent connectivity problems affecting the Zambia Revenue Authority’s Asycuda World customs system made matters worse, hamstringing transporters trying to settle haulage dues by using the Smartpay application. But the biggest issue, Fitzmaurice said, was with the Sydonia system. “How these authorities put in a system that needs more data than they can supply, is embarrassing.” He added, though, that concerted efforts were under way to address connectivity and capacity problems. Unfortunately, as trucks started backing up north of Kasumbalesa, drivers were left to their own devices to get by as the trickle of trucks passing through led to increased congestion. In one incident, a driver trying to cook food on a gas stove inadvertently set fire to his rig, a cooking oil carrier, sparking fears that the blaze could have had something to with the xenophobia down south and threats of retaliation in diaspora states. In addition, empty-haul south-bound drivers started veering off to Mokambo, the DRC-Zambia crossing further east, as they tried to complete their home leg without having to pass through Kasumbalesa. But that dirt-track stretch of close on 90km has, on more than one occasion, been described as a lastditch resort that should best be avoided. “It’s deteriorating by the day, with trucks getting stuck on a daily basis and blocking the road,” Fitzmaurice said. And although tarmac and relative ease await hauliers once they have managed to survive the DRC-Zambia crossing, corruption is an additional challenge to the congestion for trucks entering South Africa. A regular copperbelt transporter, who described the north-south corridor as “a disaster for operators”, confirmed the administrative and capacity issues experienced in Zimbabwe, Zambia and the DRC, and slammed the exploitation and extortion found further south. “South African traffic officials are targeting foreign registered trucks for ridiculous and non-existent offences, for bribery. To tell you the truth, this country is rotten to the core when it comes to law enforcement agencies.” In the meantime, South Africa’s transport minister, Fikile Mbalula, is yet to make a statement assuaging the fears of transporters following the recent spate of xenophobic attacks. And, as Ramaphosa’s envoys embarked on their peace-making journey to countries whose citizens have come under attack in South Africa, the president said: “We are doing what we can to explain ourselves.” Meanwhile, a state of tenuous calm is prevailing between South Africa and its African trade partners, as transporters and other businesses battle to cope with the usual everyday concerns affecting intercontinental commerce.
Capacity issues continue to cause congestion on the north-south corridor
20 Sep 2019 - by Eugene Goddard
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FTW 20 September 2019
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