Transit traffic grows as new projects take off

‘Intransigent’ SA Customs forces cargo to alternative ports JOY ORLEK BEITBRIDGE Border Clearing Agency has carved a lucrative niche in the Removal in Transit (RIT) market for Zambian goods moving to Johannesburg for onward carriage to overseas destinations. “The country is booming as new projects take off and imported Zimbabwe expertise breathes new life into the agricultural sector,” says BBCA managing director Brian Kalshoven. “A small percentage of the goods from Zambia are consumed in South Africa but the majority is merely hubbed for onward transit,” he said. “A lot of the minerals – predominantly copper – come to South Africa for processing, and we do some import clearance on these, but transit cargo remains our main business.” The company also gets involved in some seafreight shipments, but has found increasing competition from Kazangula through Botswana. “Due to SA Customs’ intransigence, Zambia is looking more and more at using alternative routes, through Namibia or the east coast ports for example, which means that we at Beitbridge are seeing a decline in growth, jobs and revenue.” He believes that Customs needs to recognise that its hard-nosed attitude with regard to acquittals for transit goods is chasing cargo away from South Africa to ports where customs procedures are less of a deterrent. In terms of volume trends, Kalshoven has noted a steady flow of cargo from Central Africa . “But traffic from Zimbabwe has dropped dramatically over the past three to four years after a steady flow over the previous decade.”