Saaff pleads for centralised border control body

Alan Peat THE FREIGHT industry has issued a loud call for some sort of centralised control at border posts, with the recent, uncontrolled debacle at Beitbridge providing perfect proof of this need, according to Edward Little, executive director of the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF). “It was only after top-level officials from both customs authorities and senior representatives of the forwarding, transport and the other involved parties got together and put together a centralised form of control and action plan that things came right,” he told FTW. “This clearly indicates the need for some central control at each border post to co-ordinate all the various authorities.” SAAFF made this proposal at the recent customs stakeholders indaba and the Sacob international trade committee meeting. “We have recommended that one party takes overall control of functions to avoid the sort of chaos that ensued at Beitbridge.” Little suggests that it is “only logical” that customs - with the biggest role at any border post - should have this overall control. It’s not a new idea, he added. The National Inter-Departmental Structure on Border Control (NIDS) used to be in charge of all border post functions. “But it fell into disrepair and so there is now nobody in overall control.