Collective voice could prevent costly misunderstandings
SENIOR REPRESENTATIVES of the shipping industry have joined forces to offer a collective voice against what they claim is a lack of consultation between the industry and state-owned transport organisations.
The Association of
Shipping Lines (ASL), Association of Ships Agents and Brokers of South Africa (ASABOSA), South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF), and the Chartered Institute of Shipbrokers were joined by representatives from the Maritime Industry Training Board (MITB) and the Marine Insurance Industry in meetings in Johannesburg and Cape Town recently to discuss plans in this respect.
The need for a collective voice has arisen, the industry says, because when dealing with the authorities there have been misunderstandings as to where responsibilities start and end.
Sometimes we have the impression that organisations such as Autonet, Portnet and Spoornet, which should work in harmony, are instead watertight compartments, said ASABOSA's Rod Eaton.
There are also times when unilateral action by one arm of government causes avoidable knock-on effects. SA Revenue Services' recent imposition of VAT on overborder transactions, for instance, resulted in a massive backlog of trucks and inordinate delays at border posts such as Beit Bridge, which the industry could have predicted, if consulted.
Such frustrations, coupled with plummeting port productivity in recent months, could impact on the region's competitiveness in global markets. The port authorities must not forget that our neighbours in Southern Africa have the option of Maputo or Beira.
We do not intend that the concept of a collective voice should be antagonistic. Given co-operation among the players, both public and private, South Africa could become the logistics hub of the sub-continent, creating jobs and benefiting other stakeholders.
The Department of Transport has taken the initiative of calling in industry representatives to explain the roles of various bodies, he said, but other authorities, closer to the coal-face, were less pro-active.
By Leonard Neill
