New dangerous goods laws open a can of worms

The proposed new dangerous goods regulations, which fall under the Fire Services Act, open a whole new can of worms – including potential for fraud and corruption – and are, in the opinion of the Road Freight Association (RFA), a step backwards. The freight industry has until the end of the month to comment on the new regulations which, should they be published, require an operator to present a vehicle to an inspector to evaluate the suitability for the transport of dangerous goods before a permit can be issued. Gavin Kelly, technical and operations manager for the RFA, told FTW the association would be submitting input outlining its opposition to the new regulations to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. “We believe the proposed new regulations are a backward step from 2001 when the Hazardous Substances Act and its provisos were replaced by the provisions contained under Chapter V111 of the National Road Traffic Act (NRTA) designed to address dangerous goods transportation,” said Kelly. He noted that the RFA was opposed to the new regulations due to what he terms the “fraud and corruption” practised by a number of municipalities around the country under the banner of incident management and public safety. “The RFA has uncovered a number of schemes perpetrated by fire authorities where they use their powers to extort vast sums of money from the transport industry,” said Kelly. A number of these matters are currently under consideration at the High Court, he said. “We expect a judgement in our favour shortly.” Kelly said that the proposed regulations also gave sweeping powers to officials who were neither experienced nor trained to deal with road transport matters. “This will cause confusion and conf lict between various sets of transport-related legislation and various tiers of government departments and authorities,” he said. Other transport and freight associations FTW approached for comment were not aware of the proposed new regulations although Kamiel Rajah, associate in the International Transport, Trade and Energy Department at Shepstone & Wylie Attorneys, noted that legally speaking, once the proposed regulations were published for comment in the Government Gazette, it could be said that the industry was aware of the regulations. He told FTW that given the very specific nature of these regulations, the deadline for comment An oil tanker on fire near Sasolburg, Free State. was not long enough. INSERT & CAPTION This will cause confusion and conflict between various sets of transport-related legislation. – Gavin Kelly CAPTION An oil tanker on fire near Sasolburg, Free State. Photo: Arrive Alive