EDI will bring consistency to Lesotho route

In order to maximise delivery speed for consolidations going into Lesotho, transport firms are urging the country’s customs officials to get with the electronic programme. “EDI is now active at places like Maseru Bridge, but only on the South African side. We’re using it 100% and we are seeing time savings on the South African side. But things slow down on the Lesotho side,” said Kevin Dagnin, founding member of Kayhil Freight. The Lesotho consolidation specialist maintains its Gauteng office in Alberton, and has a distribution warehouse in Maseru. “EDI will also save time by making customs operations consistent. Consistency is a problem with the South African customs. Every shift that comes on has its own interpretation of the rules. But with EDI, once a cargo is cleared in Pretoria, there’s no room for discussion,” Dagnin said. Kayhil has years of experience finessing every time and cost saving it can manage for customers, and as a result now handles courier work for most express parcel companies, including FedEx, TNT, United Express, Dawn Wing, In-Express, Globe Flight, OCS, Skynet and Courier IT. The years of consolidations have seen cargoes change, from a preponderance of goods going to garment factories to humanitarian aid. But hardware is one steady mover. “We transport a lot of agricultural tools that go to the hardware stores, like irrigation pumps and pipes used by the farmers,” said Dagnin. Volumes are slightly down from last year as even small landlocked Lesotho feels some effects of global conditions, but demand for the general goods moved in Kayhil’s consolidated shipments has remained consistent. Another perennial mover is computers, which Kayhil Freight imports for its South African manufacturers. “We bring in electronic supplies regularly, on a daily basis for some customers,” said Dagnin. A notable development on the customs clearance issue has been the recent election of Hilary Woelk, Kayhil’s managing member, as chairperson of the new Lesotho Freight Association, which is engaging Sars and Lesotho’s Customs Department on EDI and other road freight issues.