Exporters Western Cape (EWC) has reiterated its stance that the closure of the regional Executive Committees (Excos) by the Johannesburg head office of the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) is cause for serious concern.
Although the chapters are still considered to be in existence, some members have said that without Excos, the three regional branches in the Western and Eastern Cape, as well as KwaZulu-Natal, are functionally non-existent.
Last week Friday, responding to Saaff National’s decision to disband the Excos, Saaff member and former KZN regional chairman, Rex McGregor, said if regional members didn’t have exco representation, they would fall under head office.
In that case, he said, you might as well accept that the chapters are closed down.
He said this was especially the case when the current regional consultants reached the end of their service contracts on April 30, without any word yet from Saaff National about who the new consultants would be.
EWC chairman, Terry Gale, has said: “The demise of Saaff’s Western Cape Chapter has raised more questions than answers, and we are still trying to understand the reasons behind this.”
He said the chapter was extremely proactive, in particular with their engagements with the SA Revenue Service.
Gale added that it must be understood that “the Western Cape is different from the other provinces in every way, not only politically but functionally as well”.
The Saaff development came at a very busy time, he added, saying that it coincided with the city hosting the largest Mining Indaba to date, the opening of Parliament and subsequent State of the Nation Address.
While US President Donald Trump is still trying to comprehend what the African Growth and Opportunity Act is all about, this development puts extra pressure on a custodial body such as the EWC when it's faced with avoidable challenges on the ground.
