FOLLOWING A workshop organised by the SA Academy of Logistics in conjunction with UNCTAD (United Nations Conference for Trade and Development), the Academy is to establish a private-sector-driven forum to promote multimodal transport.
This is designed to encourage joint discussion between government and business on multimodal issues, according to the Academy's Dr Pieter Nagel - logistics specialist at Sasol and chairman of the SA Shippers' Council.
South Africa has a key goal to build its competitiveness in international trade by ensuring that the region's competitive advantages can be accessed and marketed, he said. Intermodalism will be fostered by incentives - and not by regulations. This through the development of an intermodal interchange infrastructure and the establishment of information systems. This thinking at the workshop was motivated by the fact that the SA White Paper on National Transport Policy recognises transport as one of the five main priority areas for socio-economic development. Also that SA trade will be supported by developing seamless integration of goods transport into regional and global patterns.
After a thorough discussion of all the issues, said Nagel, it was felt that this forum should be established leading towards the introduction of an enabling environment which would promote SA goods and services. A number of specific actions have already been identified to achieve this aim.
They include:
Examining existing co-ordination efforts to avoid duplication; Creating awareness of the potential benefits of multimodal transport; Reviewing existing transport laws and industry regulations in the light of international practices; Promoting sub-regional harmonisation of trade facilitation measures; Analysing possible needs and promoting co-ordinated planning for intermodal transport infrastructure development; Encouraging closer co-operation between modes (particularly road and rail); Assessing the suitability of information systems and modern logistics tools; Improving mechanisms to provide training for both public and private sector transport personnel.All this, said Nagel, is designed to enhance the trade efficiency of the region.
