A new industry body dedicated to representing the ground-level interests of freight forwarders and local logistics operators has been launched – the South African Freight and Logistics Association (Safla).
This was announced on Tuesday evening, March 24, after weeks of speculation that some members of the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) were considering forming a break-away organisation.
It comes after Saaff’s year-end announcement in 2025 to close the executive committees (Excos) of the regional branches – also known as chapters – because of internal restructuring at the 125-year-old association.
Although Saaff CEO Dr Juanita Maree had on various occasions denied that the chapters were closing down, a former KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) regional chairman of the association, Rex McGregor, said that without the Excos, regional representation was effectively being absorbed by the executive in Johannesburg.
This sentiment was widely shared by chapter members in KZN and the Western Cape who claimed that de-regionalisation was against the spirit of Saaff, known for its urgent intervention on behalf of forwarders at the ports, as opposed to being dictated to by head office.
A Safla statement says the new association is “built on a foundation of data-driven advocacy and operational relevance”.
It adds that “Safla enters the industry with a clear mandate to tackle the friction points that have long slowed trade and burdened businesses.”
Heading up the new body is Dave Logan, an industry stalwart and Maree’s predecessor at Saaff.
The Safla statement says Logan is unambiguous about the new association’s purpose.
“We represent the operational reality others are too centralised to capture,” he says.
Recently, when ructions within Saaff ranks first emerged, Maree said the association’s representation on the National Logistics Crisis Committee (NLCC) had demanded a rethink of how the chapters were run.
However, former Saaff members generally contend that Maree’s presence on the NLCC has resulted in politics gaining precedence over members’ concerns.
Jonathan McDonald, who was vice-chairman of Saaff’s Western Cape chapter at the time the province’s Exco was disbanded, said the establishment of Safla signals a return to how regional representation should be done.
He said because of Saaff’s de-regionalisation, not a single meeting had been held with representatives of the South African Revenue Service.
The absence of scheduled meetings with the tax authority resulted in several customs-related issues being left in limbo.
“We simply cannot carry on like this any more,” he said.
- This is a developing story and will be followed by an update on Wednesday afternoon, March 25.
