Regulation of road freight sector a certainty – DoT

The Department of Transport (DoT) has warned that regulation of the road transport industry is inevitable and that no amount of resistance from industry will stop the process. The department is expected to forge ahead this year with plans to re-regulate the sector. Speaking in Cape Town recently, Mihlali Gqada, DoT deputy director of logistics infrastructure, said some of the biggest challenges government faced in the freight logistics sector were due to the unregulated space in which companies were operating. “We come from a situation where road was regulated for a long time and then was deregulated,” said Gqada. “The problem in South Africa today is that I can just go out and buy a truck and I can move fruit or flowers or flour - anything I want. Because road freight has been deregulated anyone can move any amount of tonnage and any commodity they want anywhere they want to.” She said the deregulation had resulted in road freight operators being able to do pretty much as they wanted. “If you are a transporter you are virtually using only your conscience to say I can or cannot move this commodity from here to there using this vehicle. This, in my view, is the largest problem we have in the sector. The primary problem is the deregulation of road and the other challenges are all secondary to that.” Gqada said the challenge was further exacerbated by ineffective enforcement of standards for drivers, vehicles and operations. She said the country lacked knowledge and skill when it came to enforcing road freight regulations. “When a truck is stopped by a police officer on the side of the road they often won’t have a clue if the vehicle is overloaded or not.” According to Gqada this is further compounded by issues such as lack of experience required to enter the industry. “You can get a licence at 18 and by 19 be a professional truck driver. You don’t need to have any experience to go to the next level.” She said whilst government had no idea what was being moved where and how by South African truck drivers, this was of increasing concern when it came to cross-border operators. “Truckers are coming into this country and we do not know what they are doing while in the country. This is not the case for South African operators when they enter neighbouring countries. We don’t have the leverage to do as we please in those countries, but because of deregulation there is no control whatsoever over these vehicles in South Africa.” She said for far too long the road freight sector had been operating like a mafia sector and it could not be allowed to continue. “We want to introduce quality regulation in this country. We need a system where we know what is being moved, when it is moved, where it is being moved from and where to, and what roads are being used.” Gqada said while industry was clearly resisting regulation it was no longer an issue that could be ignored and a regulatory system for the road freight sector was going to be implemented regardless of how painful the process for all involved.