Zambia still offers some of the biggest opportunities for road transporters operating in the mining space, according to CEO of National Road Carriers (NRC), Callie Geldenhuys. “Global mining company First Quantum has three big projects operating in Zambia, including the copper nickel mine, Kalumbila,” he said. Company director Leon von Benecke told FTW that while Zambia had offered its share of challenges for mining production and investment – including irregular electricity supply and mining taxes – these issues had been addressed and there was a “lot of excitement” about ongoing opportunities. Angola was another “hotspot” NRC was exploring, according to director Jim Fourie. “Especially for the mining equipment we export into the country for companies such as Bell and Caterpillar.” He said that transport costs to and from South Africa and Angola were “quite reasonable”, unlike in other crossborder countries where fuel costs and toll fees – amongst others – were excessively high. “Two major challenges we, as road transporters, face is the volatile rand/ dollar exchange rate and the extreme fluctuations in the diesel price. It makes it hard to determine contract rates and to keep costs down for clients,” said Von Benecke. Furthermore, the playing fields are not equal for SA transporters doing business in neighbouring countries – NRC goes as far afield as Tanzania via road. “To help the neighbouring countries, our government has eased trade restrictions but many of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries have introduced major punitive measures which have effectively become trade barriers,” he pointed out. According to Von Benecke these include import tariffs on a long list of commodities, an “excessive” number of toll gates, and several other levies and taxes, including carbon tax and fuel levies. This also results in a lot of paperwork and red tape which can cause delays. “As a result, the cost of doing business in South Africa from the other SADC countries is far cheaper than for South African logistics companies doing business with its neighbours,” he said. To overcome these challenges the company – which has been operating cross-border since 1997 –continuously re-evaluates its routing. “We look at where restrictions have eased and we use these countries as alternatives,” he explained. The company also stayed on top of changing regulations which required additional paperwork, he added. “We cannot compete against the influx of new operators who cut their profit margins finely so we compete by staying ahead of the game and ensuring we know what’s happening on the ground,” said Geldenhuys.
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We look at where restrictions have eased and we use these countries as alternatives. – Callie Geldenhuys
