A task team mandated by the Minister of Transport to investigate the movement of high cube containers on South African roads has had its first meeting.
This comes less than a month after the Minister of Transport, Blade Nzimande, met with industry stakeholders to discuss the contentious high cube issue that was fast spiralling out of control. The speedy establishment of a task team has highlighted the importance of the matter to the department of transport which has committed to work with industry to find a solution.
Industry and the DoT have been at loggerheads for years over regulation 224 (b) of the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 under the National Road Traffic Act of 1996 that limits the height of a vehicle transporting a high cube container to 4.3m. Nearly all of the high cube containers in South Africa are moved at a height of 4.6m – and thanks to industry intervention, Nzimande has extended the moratorium that was due to be lifted in January next year.
This will see no punitive measures related to regulation 224 (b) taken throughout 2019. The minister called for the establishment of a task team comprising government and industry to look at the high cube issue and to report back to his office in six months’ time. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) meanwhile has been tasked with researching the safety of the movement of high cubes at 4.6m. According to industry consultant Mike Walwyn, who is representing the freight forwarding industry on the task team, real progress has been made in recent weeks.
“We have taken a less aggressive approach and opted to rather get onto the same page with the minister and work with the government to find a solution,” he told FTW. “We believe this is the best way forward. While the minister has not given us any indication that the height regulation will be changed at the end of 2019, he has opened discussion and given us a year’s reprieve to find an amicable solution.”
Walwyn said the meeting, which had taken place in Pretoria, had been well represented by government and industry with the freight forwarding industry, the road freight sector and the harbour carriers present. A representative from the fruit industry had also attended and would also sit on the task team, he said.
This is an important aspect as all of South Africa’s fruit is exported in reefers that are all high cubes.
“The meeting set the terms of reference and agenda for the way forward while the urgency of the matter has been stressed. There is no doubt we are making progress,” said Walwyn. Whilst not able to share any details of the process or the work of the technical task team, Walwyn said it was amicable and positive.
“The adversarial approach was not getting us anywhere. This way we are involved in finding a solution that works for government and for industry,” he said.
The next meeting of the task team is expected to take place in early December.
This way we are involved in finding a solution that works for government and for industry. – Mike Walwyn
