New Fesarta chairman makes history

The Federation of Eastern and Southern African Road Transport Associations (Fesarta) has elected Paul Maiyo, finance director of Siginon Freight and chairman of the Kenya Transport Association (KTA), as new chairman. He takes over from Mike Scott, MD of Cargo Carriers’ e-cargo division. Gavin Kelly, technical and operations manager of SA’s Road Freight Association (RFA), was elected vicechairman at Fesarta’s 8th AGM recently. “It’s the first time that someone from East Africa has taken this office,” Scott said. “And I think that it’s a good thing, as Fesarta, after all, represents constituents in both eastern and southern Africa, and trucking is conducted between these two regions. Barney Curtis, executive officer of Fesarta, agreed with the relevance of the appointment of an eastern African chairman, as the federation was the only one that represented both eastern and southern members. “Unlike the other similar federations,” he added, “all of which are of a purely southern African nature.” Maiyo’s appointment was also deserving, he added, because the Kenyan association was a very important force in th East African area. The other main item on the agenda at the Fesarta AGM was the preparation of a memorandum on issues affecting the transport industry, which is to be presented to the relevant ministers of the EAC, Comesa and the SADC at their tripartite meeting later this year.