'Positive signs of return to heady days ...'

Well here we are in 2011 and from all accounts the freight industry has experienced a relatively quiet start to the New Year. Possibly the economy is still in the doldrums, or maybe it is a traditionally slow period, but either way, most colleagues agree that trade in January was particularly underwhelming. Nevertheless, all signs are positive for the gradual return to the heady trading days of 2008 before anyone had thought about it, let alone uttered the dreaded ‘R’ word. Of course, there is the small matter of political turmoil in Egypt and the uncertainty of other unforeseen global events, but disasters aside, all seems to be going well in our corner of the universe. The year started with a bang for the team at Saaff, who are proud of the part they played in persuading the National Port Regulator to deny the proposed price hikes by Transnet National Ports Authority. Dave Watts prepared a cogent and well argued submission which made strong recommendations including the suggestion that the Regulator reject the proposed tariff increase and instruct the Port Authority to review its proposal and submit one which recognises the needs of the South African economy and trade facilitation. The outcome was a reduction in the increase from 11.9% to 4.49%. Forwarding excellence Dates have been set for the 2011 Saaff Congress which is scheduled to take place on June 8-9 at Emperor’s Palace. The proposed theme for this year is “Global Intelligence – Local Relevance – Forwarding Excellence.” Do I see an oxymoron in there somewhere? Counterfeit seizure A disturbing report out of Durban indicates that the Port Security Services recently seized large volumes of counterfeit goods, but suffered the tragic loss of the Warrant Officer leading the investigating teams. He appears to have been murdered and a customs officer shot and wounded in a seemingly related incident. Apparently police have made arrests, but are still searching for the kingpin involved. Consumer Protection Act Remember that the Consumer Protection Act comes into force on 31st March. This Act has farreaching consequences and impacts on clearing and forwarding agents trading with companies whose asset value and turnover are below R3 million and therefore fall within the ambit of the Act. Saaff has selected another aspirant to represent the country for the Fiata Young Freight Forwarder of the year competition. Michael de Witt of Schenker is the successful candidate for 2011. We wish Michael every success in the international assessments. After producing three successive finalists, maybe this time we can bring home the silverware. Old Japanese saying - ‘Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is a nightmare.’