Currency restrictions add new challenges

Following the conclusion of
Angola’s protracted civil war,
the reconstruction of the national
economy commenced, with transport
firms leading the way by bringing
necessary industrial inputs and
consumer goods up from SA. These
hauliers learned the challenges of
shipping in the country, and found
ways to adapt.
“We’ve been shipping to Angola
for six years, since the end of
the war. We ship anything and
everything – bulk, breakbulk,
reefers, all sort of products,” said
Jeff Smit, the owner of Cross Africa.
Located in Spartan (Kempton
Park), Cross Africa has parking
facilities for trucks on site, where
goods are loaded en route to port for
the sea voyage to Angola. “We have
a lot of subcontractors working from
our premises, running our loads into
southern Africa,” Smit said.
“We use several lines, including
Safmarine, MSC and NDSL.
Luanda port is pretty congested, so
we use other ports,” he noted.
Even in the best of circumstances,
the movement of cargo from ports
can be very time consuming – from
platform inspections onward.
This year’s new challenge is
restrictions placed on currency
movement.
“The economy has slowed down a
bit because of the Angolan Reserve
Bank restrictions on money moving
out. This started a few months ago.
Obviously we don’t extend credit to
Angola. We need upfront payments,
and this has affected business
somewhat,” Smit said.
But with the Angolan market
showing such promise, ways will
be found to deal with this any other
challenges that may arise, he said.