The Western Cape’s Red Tape Reduction Unit is gradually making progress in addressing the ongoing issues around the customs scanner at the Port of Cape Town. The Cape’s Port Liaison Forum (PLF), an initiative of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, asked the unit to intervene and assist in addressing the increased costs associated with the scanner which have been a concern from the get-go. Introduced by customs at the port several years ago, the scanner was intended to speed up the release of containers and reduce costs by significantly decreasing the number of physical searches. The reality has been the exact opposite, with costs escalating because almost every container scanned is also having to be physically searched. Industry remains of the opinion that the problem around the scanner is excessive bureaucracy, but attempts to get all the stakeholders around one table have been futile. According to a spokesman for the unit the complex relationship of stakeholders has been challenging, but he said they were making inroads with a session expected to take place within the next few weeks with all the stakeholders present.
