Impending tolls ‘unsettling’ for agents and transporters

The impending toll roads in Gauteng remain one of the major concerns for the transport industry. According to Sue Wood, operations director of Cargocare Freight Services, the fees will impact drastically on costs, placing business under more pressure in the current volatile economic environment. “Government should put a fuel levy in place to avoid punitive measures against business and its customers,” she said. According to Wood, the uncertainty between the Department of Transport and the National Treasury concerning the tolls and subsequent fees is creating an unsettled feeling among agents and transporters alike. “Better leadership would lead to improved predictability and planning. “The government remains uncertain about the best way to recoup toll fees and what methodology would work.” These are challenges Gauteng can ill afford at present, especially in the light of the province’s waning popularity as a gateway to and from Durban due to the increasing capacity of Maputo. “We are already seeing Zambian export cargo moving that way,” Wood told FTW. Gauteng – as the main commercial hub of the country – can be improved significantly by growth in business incubation in many sectors, she believes “Growth in traffic with emerging markets is a great opportunity and Gauteng is very well placed geographically.” Asked about volumes, Wood said that export volumes had dropped substantially in recent months, although imports via both air and sea had been increasing in comparison to last year.