Permit fees sometimes exceed transport rate

THE BULK of Frits Kroon Transport’s (FKT’s)
business, both literally and figuratively, involves
the transport of earthmoving and mining
equipment to Zambia.
For nine years this owner-manager company
has been in the business of transporting
abnormal wide, long, high and heavy loads from
small TLBs to payloads of 97 tons from South
Africa to Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe,
Zambia, the DRC, Malawi and Mozambique.
FKT ships mainly from the ports of Durban
and sometimes from Richards Bay on big
equipment for faster release.
According to managing director Frits Kroon,
the biggest problem they experience in Zambia
is the permit costs at weighbridges – they are
charged a hefty US$37 500.00 for 50 tons and
upwards. “The clients gets a heart attack when
they see the permit fee is sometimes more than
the transport rate,” says Kroon.
Since the beginning of the year it has also
become very expensive to use the company’s
own bakkies to escort the abnormal loads
through Zambia. The vehicles are considered
to be used for business purposes and a certain
percentage of the value of the vehicle is levied
upon entry into the country, which constitutes
an additional cost per bakkie of R7 000 to
R12 000 per annum. The only alternative is to
use the vehicles supplied in Zambia, at a cost
of course.
Kroon says his personal feeling about Zambia
is that the country is booming – as long as the
copper price remains high the economy will
continue to grow. He is very optimistic about
the future but cautions that the diesel price
could put a dampener on it. Good service and
fast turnaround times is the company mission,
he added.