Customs obstructs logistics flow

KEVIN MAYHEW
EFFICIENCY VARIATIONS within the South African Revenue Services’ customs office network - which rate from excellent to extremely bad - are creating major problems that compound the present bottlenecks at the country’s ports. Problems with railway rolling stock supplies also aggravate the situation.
This is the view of Colin Bowring, chief executive officer of Isando-based Kodiak Shipping which provides road, sea and air freight solutions within South Africa and contracts out overborder traffic.
“There appears to be an apparent skills discrepancy, meaning that some customs offices are very efficient while others are not. This creates unnecessary delays with certain personnel calling for documentation and authorisations that are not necessary or taking a long time to clear them,” he says.
All these factors are making it difficult to meet destination arrivals on time, which has a knock on effect on costs and efficiencies as unexpected delays have to be accommodated.