Anna Cox
THE CROSS-Border Road Transport Agency (C-B RTA) has entered into a partnership with the CSIR to undertake a route viability study which will be completed within the next three months.
The agency found that there were no scientific and tested approaches through which permits which were issued for travelleres to Zimbabwe through Beitbridge and to Mozambique through the Lebombo Border Post.
Minister of Transport, Dullah Omar, recently issued a public statement of intent regarding the route viability study. At the same time he signed a memorandum of understanding between the CSIR, the transport department and the C-BRTA in this respect.
He said that the agency was experiencing problems in approving and rejecting permits based on the lack of updated information on demand and supply of cross border movements as well as the lack of sound scientific methods to assist in the warranting of permits.
The C-BRTA, in partnership with the CSIR, will also draft a business plan for the implementation of a cross border road transport management system which will address certain issues. These are: the determination of route viability for cross border road transport; the development of a permit management system based on scientific research; and the de-bottlenecking of border posts.
Long delays are not conducive
to effective and cost-efficient
transport operations. Research needs to be undertaken into the current levels of service and operations at border posts, at what the main causes are, and what the best practices are. We will also audit reports of the transport department, the SADC, the C-BRTA and other initiatives to ensure that there is a consolidated effort in resolving the issues and implementation of quality control measures to ensure effective and continuous service delivery, he said.
Omar said a number of studies had been undertaken in this respect and this project would review them in terms of the business plans and include them for implementation.
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