More than half of the members of the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) in the Western Cape are prepared to walk over to the break-away association announced on Tuesday, the SA Freight and Logistics Association (Safla).
This is according to Jonathan McDonald, the former vice-chairman of Saaff’s disbanded Executive Committee (Exco) in the Cape.
Speaking after a press statement was leaked to Freight News about the formation of Safla, McDonald said Saaff is definitely splitting after recent developments involving the closure of the Excos.
The intention of Saaff’s head office to close the Excos was first communicated towards the end of last year, and made official in January.
Saaff maintains that the decision is meant to consolidate decision-making at head office in Johannesburg, and that the regional branches (“chapters”) remain open.
But serious concerns have been raised about regional representation and how the centralisation of executive management away from the chapters could impact forwarders representing cargo owners at ports such as Cape Town and Durban.
According to McDonald, “the frustration among members is really bad at the moment.”
Asked if the formation of Safla can really be referred to as a split, he said “definitely.
“More than half of the members (of Saaff in the Western Cape) are prepared to leave.”
He added that the expectation is for the split to ripple across the local industry, and that Safla has done “massive canvassing” across the sector.
“We have big firms on board,” McDonald said.
Delving into more detail about what precipitated the formation of Safla, he said disbanding the Excos and taking control away from the urgent intervention that chapter executives used to have, “has completely changed the direction of Saaff.”
Being there for members on the ground when assistance was most needed, “used to be the driving force of the association,” McDonald said about Saaff.
“That has all changed since they closed down the Excos.”
Commenting about Saaff CEO Dr Juanita Maree’s leadership and pronunciations around centralising control, especially in favour of what it supposedly means for the association’s representation on the government’s National Logistics Crisis Committee, McDonald said it’s not serving the immediate needs of members.
“Being there for freight forwarders on the ground is what Saaff used to be know for, but things have changed at a policy and political level. Helping cargo owners with immediacy are the nuts and bolts of what keeps the economy going.
“But Juanita wants issues to be escalated all the way to head office. A lot of issues should be resolved way before you need senior eyes on them.”
McDonald said one of the most serious problems introduced and flagged since the Exco closures, is the regular meetings Saaff used to have with SA Revenue Service (Sars) representatives.
“Not a single meeting has been held with Sars in the Western Cape since January, and it’s a cause of great concern.”
Saaff’s ability to get involved in customs issues through the Excos, “used to be the value proposition of the association,” McDonald said.
“But that has all changed.”
Since Tuesday’s announcement about the formation of Safla, Freight News has sought to get comment from Maree and Saaff through the association’s media liaison officer, Teresita van Gaalen.
At the time this post was generated, neither Maree or Van Gaalen had responded.
There is also no holding statement on Saaff’s website about the issue.
