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
