Speed of electronic clearance improves at Oshoek

The discrepancy in customs
clearance time between the
SA side of Oshoek border post
and the Swaziland side of the cross
that bears most of the road freight
traffic into and out of the country
remains the bane of transporters. But
Claude Govender, manager of Cross
Continental Carriers in Matsapha,
took a look at data from his truck’s
GPS tracking systems for FTW,
and found a surprising reversal in
September.
“In the past it used to take 20
minutes to clear South African
customs. For Swaziland it has been
one hour. We have been checking
the stats and we are pleased to
confirm over the past weeks the
turnaround time has been as follows:
Swaziland, 20min; South Africa,
30min,” Govender said.
Could it be that after a year of
trying, Swazi customs officials are
getting the hang of the Asycuda
system? The dual system of
electronic clearance – EDI in SA
and Asycuda in Swaziland – has
been a problem up to now. Full
efficiency awaits the adoption of a
single system by both countries, but
at least the time discrepancy appears
to be diminishing.
Cross Continental Carriers has
five years’ experience shuttling
goods cross border – full loads and
consolidations – and while its core
business is intermodal transport
(rail/road/air) – the firm acts as local
agents for various freight forwarders
and courier companies, as well as
acting as agent for Hamburg Sűd.
“Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes
it’s a nightmare,” Govender said,
summing up the erratic nature
of customs clearance procedures
that remain a sometimes daunting
challenge for shippers into the
country.
At times of emergencies,
humanitarian aid cannot wait for
red tape. With up to two-thirds of
Swazis depending on food aid at any
given time, assurance of delivery
is critical, and agents charged with
the movement of aid for the World
Food Programme call upon Cross
Continental Carriers to bring wheat
in from Maputo.
Govender echoes the opinion
of other Swaziland clearing and
forwarding executives that the
Transnet strike impacted their
business more than any other 2010
event.
“We were affected both directly
and indirectly. We lost business
because of the strike but we also lost
potential business because there was
a drop in confidence about doing
business in the region. If the strikes
continue Swaziland’s economy will
definitely take a hit,” he said.