Forwarders stick to
16-hour stretch
Alan Peat
AFTER A lot of threatening noises from the customs controller at Beitbridge - the main road artery between SA, Zimbabwe and all points north - accusing clearing agents of stifling the effects of the border post’s new 24-hour opening, things seem to have quietened down.
The original fuss started during June, when one agent told FTW that the controller had gone on local radio saying that the clearing people were spoiling the 24-hour opening by only opening during the business day and delaying the movement of trucks customs-cleared during the night-time hours.
But, said Brian Kalshoven, m.d. of Beitbridge Border Clearing Agency and local chairman of the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF), the agents had changed their hours of opening to 16 hours a day - from 06:00 to 22:00 - because there was minimal movement of vehicles during the remaining night-time hours.
Having a member of staff on night-time stand-by at a cell phone number was sufficient for the cause, he added.
But customs appeared determined to apply pressure on the clearing agents to get them to extend their hours of opening, and were threatening to hit them with a section of the Customs Act, which Kalshoven claimed was being misinterpreted.
However, after a subsequent meeting with the controller - which Kalshoven described as “unsatisfactory” - a request was made for a meeting with a senior party from customs head office.
“He came here and gave us a chance to put our side of the story,” Kalshoven told FTW.
“While he pointed out that it was an SADC (Southern African Development Community) requirement that Beitbridge border post opens for 24 hours, he seemed to respect our case that we intended to continue our 06:00-22:00 opening.
“This he then relayed back to customs commissioner, Vuso Tshabalala.”
No further action appears to be happening, Kalshoven added, and subsequent meetings with the Beitbridge controller have taken place on a much more cordial basis.
“Because of the way transportation is programmed - with consignors tending to put together their loads at the end of each week - there is still congestion at weekends because of the volume of northbound traffic,” Kalshoven told FTW.
“We therefore have to push them through as fast as we can. We even have people staying on after 22:00 if the situation warrants this.”
So all appears quiet on the Beitbridge front, Kalshoven added.
