‘Slim pickings for hauliers on DRC route’

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is not for sissies. Ask anyone who has operated in the country and they will tell you this is a business environment unlike any other. Ask them for advice on working in the DRC and they will be quick to tell you to rather sell up. Like trucker Andre van Huysteen, who owns Vanito Trading, a trucking company in Boksburg, who has been working in the country for several years. “The DRC? Run a mile! Sell your trucks! I kid you not. Sell them,” he laughs. The DRC offers various challenges to transporters be it dealing with non-existent roads to everchanging tariffs and taxes. The first rule when working in the DRC, says Van Huysteen, is to always expect the unexpected. “Every province, every area functions on its own rules and regulations and therefore you never really know what to expect. The bureaucracy plays a major role and you can have your trucks impounded for weeks at a time.” He says getting a handle on exactly what fees are charged when and where is probably the biggest challenge at any time. “In the Katanga region they charge taxes in no particular way, with the figures arbitrarily chosen by the official of the day. These are factors you have to consider and you need to empower your driver to deal with what he will face up there.” That could even include paying a bribe. “One of my drivers was once in a situation where he had paid so many ‘fines’ he had no money left, so the officers took his food as payment leaving him in a strange country with no money and no food.” Van Huysteen says many South African truckers believe they can make a profit running a crossborder operation into countries like the DRC, but if one weighs up the facts (including money spent on paying thought-up taxes), unless it is a volume-ased business, it is not profitable at present. “Rates are very low. A round trip to the Congo takes at least a month and that is without any problems being experienced.” Delays at border posts are a very real occurrence, often lengthening the trip. A slew of costs at border posts and along the route must be taken into account as well. “It really all comes down to flexibility,” says Van Huysteen. “If you are not flexible there is no way you will survive.”