Road regulations force roundabout route

LEONARD NEILL IT’S NOT only mammoth projects that provide their share of problems. Many smaller scale operations destined for African destinations present their fair share of hurdles. “We found that when we were called on to deliver the components for two 30ton transformers to Mwanza, Tanzania,” says Impson Freight director Keith Blond. Consignments destined for African countries present their own set of problems. Tanzanian regulations, for example, prohibit the carriage of a variety of goods across their roadways which are, better than many in the central part of the continent. “When we found that the transformers, in their five 40ft containers, could not be transported through Tanzania, we had to ship from Durban to Mombasa in Kenya,” he says. They were then transported by road on low bed trailers to Kisumu on the Kenyan side of Lake Victoria. Next step was chartering a ferry across the lake to Mwanza. “It was a long way around, and we were concerned about the ferry trip which does have reported difficulties. But in the end it all went well, thanks to good logistics planning and competent handlers along the route,” he says.