Cross-border road user charges to be re-examined

Road freight operators have
urged the Cross-Border Road
Transport Agency (CBRTA)
to reduce the cost of permit
fees which, along with border
delays and corruption, are
“killing the industry.”
This emerged at a breakfast
session in Pretoria last week
which afforded road freight
operators the opportunity
to engage with the Deputy
Minister of Transport,
Sindisiwe Chikunga, as well
as with board members and
management of the CBRTA.
Regional transport
operators continue to have
a strained relationship with
the CBRTA, with the agency’s
own research suggesting
operators are not convinced of
its worth and value.
Freight operators say
numerous issues are not being
resolved, and they take issue
with the general attitude of
SA Revenue Service, Customs
and immigration staff. But the
biggest issue they have relates
to the justification of the fees
paid on cross-border permits.
Around 80% of CBRTA’s
income is derived from permit
fees. The remainder comes
from penalty fees issued by
the Road
Transport
Inspectorate
(RTI) – one of
the biggest cost
components
within the
CBRTA.
The RTI,
however, is to
be reassigned
to the Road
Traffic
Management
Corporation
(RTMC).
“The benefit of this cost
reduction strategy will
not be felt immediately, as
transitional measures have
been agreed to,” said Sipho
Khumalo, CEO of the CBRTA.
“The RTMC cannot be
saddled with extra costs
not budgeted for or which
it is unable to absorb. The
move will be coordinated
in a phase-out, phase-in
arrangement, taking three
to four years to conclude,” he
indicated.
Khumalo
explained
that the
permit fee was
congruent with
the level of
administration
required by
the CBRTA
to execute
its duties,
pay staff and
engage with
industry and
other stakeholders.
He said there was a case for
the CBRTA to explore other
revenue streams to reduce the
impact of the permit fee.
“We are relooking road-user
charges because countries in
the SADC region charge South
African operators for the use
of their roads and we don’t,”
he said.
In 2005, South Africa
decided not to enforce
road-user charges for
foreign vehicles entering the
country due to low traffic
volumes. Simply, the cost
of collecting the fees would
have outweighed the revenue
derived from doing so.
However, that dynamic has
changed considerably over the
past 12 years. Several South
African companies have even
set up satellite branches in
neighbouring countries to
avoid these road user charges.
“It’s time to revisit the
policy. We are consulting
with Sanral on the matter,”
Khumalo said, before
explaining that economic
impact studies would have to
be carried out, since road-user
reciprocation could not simply
mean adding costs to the
region’s supply chain.
INSERT AND CAPTION
Countries in the SADC
region charge South
African operators for
the use of their roads
and we don’t.
– Sipho Khumalo