Promoting African compliance with global standards
LEONARD NEILL
TRADE LANES connecting the ports of Cape Town and Walvis Bay with the UK and United States will be the focus of a security pilot scheme launched by the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) at a cost of R4.25 million.
The aim of the project is to determine the applicability of new security-oriented business processes and the deployment of radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies and related transportation security software. The scheme will cover land-based and seagoing trade.
This pilot project in southern Africa is the first effort to apply the same solution to a smaller, but strategic, trading partner as the USTDA has already implemented on the major northern hemisphere trade routes.
“We look forward to increased trade stemming from the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the potential free trade agreement (FTA) between the US and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU),” says USTDA director Thelma Askey.
Two US organisations, Smart and Secure Tradelanes (SST) and Savi Technology, have joined the USTDA in
a public-private consortium to carry out the project. SST is an industry-driven initiative with automated tracking infrastructure and software in major ports worldwide to enhance the security and efficient flow
of container shipments.
Various public, private and multilateral partners will be involved. They include South African Port Operations (Sapo), Namport, the Walvis Bay Corridor Group, World Customs Organisation, the Port of New York and New Jersey and the Port of Tilbury (UK).
“Because South Africa is a participant in the US government’s Container Security Initiative, this project will serve to extend transportation security from South African ports further north and throughout southern Africa,” says Askey.
“The project will promote African compliance with international transportation security standards and facilitate trade capacity on
the continent.”
