Draft review of logistics strategy due by year end

A review of the national freight logistics strategy (NFLS) is currently under way and government is expected to publish a draft of the document before the end of the year. According to George Mahlalela, director-general for the Department of Transport, the aim of the reviewed document is to respond to the current freight system’s inability to fulfil the demand for cargo movement in four critical areas – price, level of service, quality of service and acceptable levels of reliability. “It is necessary to see an alignment of the freight logistics systems in the country while we also need to build capacity within and outside of government,” he said. “We can come up with all sorts of plans but unless we can deliver it is all worthless. The point of the NFLS is to achieve an integrated system that encompasses a public private partnership of some kind.” He said South Africa’s high freight logistics costs continued to impact the country’s competitiveness. “No doubt the shortcomings of the rail system have played a large role resulting in cargo migrating to road when it should be on rail.” But, said Mahlalela, with forecasts for demand in transport expected to double over the next 20 years, the importance of the freight strategy cannot be ignored. “Various action plans are being discussed of which the freight strategy is one. We need to also engage more earnestly with the private sector to make sure that we are dealing with the real challenges and not just those that are perceived.” He said some of the challenges the DoT needed to address with its strategy included the deterioration of the road infrastructure, the bypassing of the primary road network by trucks, overloading, lack of law enforcement and the inappropriate modal split for freight movements. “The strategy also has to take into account the environmental impact of the large number of trucks on our roads – not just through emissions but also spillages and accidents.” Mahlalela said the strategy would also encompass a way forward for the country to create an integrated transport mechanism. “The aim of this is to create an efficient and integrated transport logistics system that will enable the transfer of appropriate commodities to other modes and address the issue of excess freight on the roads and the poor road conditions at the same time.”