Global bodies join government in joint anti-crime initiative

IN THE on-going battle to upgrade security at Johannesburg International Airport (JIA), three foreign industry associations and the SA government have launched a joint assault on what is described as an ¡°unacceptably high¡± level of crime. The Association of European Airlines (AEA), Freight Forwarders International (FFI) and the Technology Asset Protection Association (Tapa) met with officials from the department of transport (DoT) last month ¨C and top of the agenda was the establishment of a local partnership to tackle the growing problem of cargo crime. The DoT officials at the meeting included Jeff Radebe, minister of transport; Mpumi Z Mpofu, director-general; Nonkululeko Msomi, deputy director-general; Levers Mabaso, director of civil aviation compliance and monitoring; and Johann Bierman, manager of aviation and maritime policy. Said Steve McHugh, head of strategy for Tapa in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA): ¡°AEA, FFI and Tapa members and many of our industry partners view the level of cargo related criminality on-and-around JIA as unacceptably high and a significant concern. ¡°The incremental costs of protecting personnel and cargo in Johannesburg are among the highest in the EMEA region. Even so, many companies still believe security controls remain inadequate.¡± A recent survey of Tapa members revealed that since January 2005, 113 freight incidents were reported in Johannesburg compared with 36 reported incidents at all other airports in the EMEA region. Robert Larson, chairman of the FFI security committee, added: ¡°We are encouraged by the high level and constructive response of the SA authorities to our intentions to fight back against this problem. ¡°The minister of transport acknowledged our concerns and recognised the commitment of AEA, FFI and Tapa to work together to beat cargo crime at the airport.¡± Key outcomes of the meeting included: ¡ñ A commitment from the minister of transport that his and possibly other government departments will work with industry security associations in the fight against cargo crime; ¡ñ An agreement to work towards the creation of a ¡°Johannesburg partnership against cargo crime¡± working group; ¡ñ The DoT to participate in the new industry working group and an aim to link in other government stakeholders to the group¡¯s activities; An action plan was agreed and will be co-ordinated by Jon Clark, AEA representative and a local airline cargo manager, who is chairman of the interest group. ¡°Our aim,¡± Clark told FTW, ¡°is to emulate the most recent success of ¡®Operation Grafton¡¯, a joint initiative involving the law enforcement authorities and industry at London¡¯s Heathrow Airport. It has made significant inroads into the causes of cargo crime and brought a series of successful prosecutions for those people involved in theft.¡± One of the local industry groups intending to be part of the working group is the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff), said chairman Paul Cheetham, MD of Micor. ¡°Our involvement would be crucial as a key stakeholder on behalf of our member customs clearing agents and freight forwarders.¡±