Industry apathy continues to block benefits of Part 108 measures

July 1 marked a oneyear milestone for the implementation of Part-108 Air Cargo Security measures in South Africa. In a nutshell, Security 108 demands the full screening of all airfreight export cargo not classed as “known cargo”. And while the positive impact of the legislation is undisputed, industry apathy continues to block many of the benefits that would flow from greater industry buy-in. “There is no doubt that there is now increased awareness of the need for security,” says Bob Garbett, managing director of Professional Risk & Asset Management. “Job function training and formal standard operating procedures are more widespread and known cargo from South Africa is accepted with confidence worldwide.” It’s also clear that background checks, including criminal checks, have helped to eliminate undesirable elements while cargo security at regulated agents, known consignors and at airports have improved. South Africa is clearly starting to catch up with air cargo security practices elsewhere. That’s the positive side – but the reverse side of the picture is not so pretty, says Garbett. “There are still fewer than 161 regulated agents countrywide and fewer than 54 known consignors.” And that can be confirmed by reference to the SACAA website. “This should be measured against the approximately five hundred forwarding/ courier agents countrywide and the tens of thousands of consignors,” he points out. The implications of this for the industry are significant. “It would only take one terrorist group to find one chink in the cargo security curtain to effect a disaster. And the more forwarding agents, airlines and consignors that are not part of the security conduit, the more chinks there are available to be exploited by those heartless terrorists who wish to harm society in order to make a political point.” Garbett believes it is impossible for airlines or airline handling agents to properly screen or check all cargo – the legal definition of cargo covers any property including mail, stores, and unaccompanied or mishandled baggage. “Those at the coal face in the air cargo industry understand full well the meaning of the words deadlines and cut-off times. Your client is simply not going to tolerate having his shipment delayed or missing a flight because you have not complied with security regulations. It is to you that he will look for explanations and perhaps even compensation.” Which is why it is more critical than ever for the industry to ‘get regulated’ in the knowledge that known cargo will not suffer the same delays as unknown cargo, a position that must be reached sooner rather than later, says Garbett.