Weighbridge inconsistencies add challenge on Namibia route

TRAVERSING THE Trans- Kalahari corridor from Gauteng to Namibia usually means dodging animals and lengthy delays at inconsistent weighbridges along the 1500km route. “We go through Botswana,” says Gordon Jay, MD of Transworld Roadfreight. “The road is fine but the problem is Botswana is not fenced, so there are always a lot of donkeys and cows on the road.” The real hiccup for Jay in his two-day Gauteng to Windhoek operation lies in wait at the various weighbridges. "At Skilpadshek they weigh the vehicle by the individual axles. Then you get to Mamuno and they weigh you on axle sets. This leads to discrepancies between weighbridge certificates and customs simply holds us to ransom." These discrepancies are compounded by hand-written certificates “And if they are looking for a Christmas bonus, they put whatever weight they want on it, and there is nothing you can do about it,” says Jay. There is the option of going to court, but then the truck stands and the court is a further 300km from where the truck was stopped. “Namibia produces very little, so what they consume comes from South Africa,” says Jay, and that means trucks usually come back empty. With operations departing from Cape Town and Johannesburg, Transworld has seen steady growth since inception in 1993.