The Minister of Transport,
Dipuo Peters, has called on
the roadfreight sector to meet
her halfway
in addressing
some of the
key challenges
faced by
industry –
including
proposals to
ban trucks
from the road
during peak
hours and to
re-introduce a
permit system.
“We
need to reflect on how we
strengthen the relationship
between ourselves and the
industry,” said Peters during a
keynote address at the annual
conference of the Road Freight
Association (RFA) in Limpopo
recently. “We need to reach
out to each other. There is
a distance between us and
we need that particular gap
closed.”
She asked industry to
meet the department of
transport halfway.
“We need to engage. It is not
just about us implementing
measures and you opposing
them. If that happens the horse
has bolted.
We need to
work together
to make this
industry work
because there
is no denying
the critical
importance of
this industry to
our economy.”
Peters called
on the RFA to
meet with her
at least twice
a year to engage on critical
concerns and challenges.
“It is important that we
accommodate each other. We
are stretching our hand to your
industry,” she said. “There have
been challenges in the past but
we need to move forward and
engage in a structured way. I
suggest that we meet at least
twice a year.”
Peters in 2015 announced
plans to ban trucks weighing
more than 9000kg from public
roads during peak hour in an
effort to improve road safety.
She has also suggested the
re-introduction of permits for
road transporters as another
avenue to address not only
road safety but to control what
commodities are moved on
what mode of transport in the
country.
RFA CEO Sharmini Naidoo
said both proposals, if accepted
and implemented, would
impact severely on the trucking
industry while it was doubtful
they would achieve their goal.
“Steps are being taken to
move the trucks off the road.
Policy statements to shift
freight from road to rail have
found their way into the draft
National Freight Logistics
Strategy and Green Transport
Strategy, and artificial
measures to make road freight
less attractive and more
expensive are on the cards,” she
said. “Penalising an industry
that adds much value is quite
an injustice.”
But, said Naidoo, they
appreciated the offer by Peters
to meet at least twice a year.
Speaking to FTW on the
sidelines of the conference she
said it would be of great benefit
to the RFA’s members if direct
meetings could be held more
regularly with Peters and her
top team.
“It would give us the
opportunity to take our
concerns and our possible
solutions directly to her,” she
said.
Nico van der Westhuizen,
the RFA’s chairman, said
the organisation had
always maintained strong
relationships with government
as they deemed it vital.
“It is essential that
government and the trucking
industry engage to create the
best transport policy for the
country,” he said.
With so much legislation
afoot affecting the
transport industry – such as
the draft National Freight
Logistics Strategy and the
Green Transport Strategy
– finding shared platforms
for engagement was
extremely important, said
Van der Westhuizen.
INSERT & CAPTION 1
It is important that
we accommodate
each other. We are
stretching our hand
to your industry.
– Dipuo Peters
INSERT & CAPTION 2
It would be of great
benefit to the RFA’s
members if direct
meetings could be
held more regularly.
– Sharmini Naidoo
