TRANSPORT TALKS

Minister of Transport, Sibusiso Joel Ndebele... pressure is on to address South Africa's appalling road safety record.

“If you had the opportunity to whisper in Minister Sibusiso Joel Ndebele’s ear, what would you say?” This was the simple question FleetWatch posed to a selected number of South Africa’s road freight companies as well some of the truck suppliers following the appointment of Sibusiso Joel Ndebele as Minister of Transport. 

When considering what they believe are the top priorities in the South Africa road transport industry that the new government should address as a matter of urgency, our respondents covered a variety of topics from cross border operations to driver training. There is, however, a common thread mentioned by most of them and this is a need to address South Africa’s appalling road safety record and improve traffic law enforcement. 

Mr Minister, here is what the road transport industry would like you to keep in mind during your tenure over at least the next five years. May we venture to say - sooner rather than later please...

Heimer Anderson Director, Anderson Transport

One of the top priorities for us is the unequal treatment of South African registered vehicles compared to our counterparts on the highly competitive South Africa/Botswana/ Namibia/Zimbabwe routes. 

On entering Botswana, South African registered vehicles need to pay for an RTP Road permit as well as NRF road and NVI motor vehicle insurance - a total of about P690 (R807) per super link. 

When entering Namibia, South African registered vehicles need to pay cross border charges of R1 405 per super link plus a mass distance charge of 26c/km. They also need to pay R600 for a CVG permit (commercial vehicle guarantee), carbon tax of R300, coupons of R600, a gate pass of R500 and insurance of R700 per super-link combination. That is R4 700 before the mileage fee. 

The total fees payable for entry into Zimbabwe come to R2700. 

These practices places an unfair cost on SA registered operators when competing for cross border business against transporters from the neighbouring states 

In contrast, foreign registered vehicles do not pay or contribute any money to the South African road infrastructure as they can enter South Africa with only a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) permit. South Africa loses a considerable amount of revenue due to this practice and we feel that the foreign registered vehicles should be subject to the same when entering South Africa. 

Cross border trade is vital to the economies of the SADC members but there needs to be a unilateral system of permits , insurance requirements and fees applicable to all users and not only to SA registered vehicles such as is currently the case. We thank you for the opportunity to address our concerns. 

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Craig Warr Operations Director Manline - Diversified Logistics

1. The shortage of professional truck drivers needs to be urgently addressed. The industry needs an effective training structure incorporating driver health management and wellness. 

2. Effective national law enforcement - zero tolerance for unroadworthy vehicles and unscrupulous operators on all South African roads. 

3. Free passage throughout the SADC region - bottlenecks and bureaucracy at border posts need to be addressed and resolved to facilitate efficient freight movement throughout the region. 

The Minister would do well to take advice from John Schnell and expand on what he has achieved provincially on a national scale. I look forward to seeing him in action. 

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Background: The collapse of the South African Rail infrastructure has resulted in almost all domestic transportation needs being satisfied by road transport. This has happened on roads which did not - and do not - have the capacity to carry the extended vehicle numbers (not only trucks but also passenger vehicles), and which have not been properly maintained. 

In parallel to the vehicle population increase, many additional truck drivers were deployed who, in many instances, were not properly trained and had inadequate practical experience. 

The above scenario has led to heavy traffic congestion as well as many unnecessary accidents with resultant delays in transfer times for both commuters and freight (high cost of productive time-loss and immeasurable cost due to accidents and loss of life to the entire country). 

For our economy to grow satisfactorily in the longer term, a holistic approach is required in which the following aspects need to be included as priorities: 

1. Relieve the congestion on roads: 
    
   • Improve rail capacity for commuters, fast (city to city) freight, and bulk freight (i.e. ore). 
   • Improve urban and peri-urban taxi and bus commuter transport through appropriate strategies. 
   • Increase the rate of construction and maintenance of roads to meet the demand. 
    

2. Improve the safety on the roads: Establish an effective road maintenance structure to ensure roads are safe to use. 

Establish proper standards for truck and public transport drivers from both a training/development point of view and enforce this effectively in practice. (The governance around the acquirement and maintenance of private pilot licenses have many “best practice” examples of how to implement an effective process, which could be considered). 

Improve the regulations and enforcement of regulations pertaining to the state of roadworthiness of trucks and busses on the roads. 

Introduce firm measures to improve driver’s attitudes on the roads. To use the public roads should be seen as a privilege (not a right) and drivers should do so in a responsible manner. 

Generally, the existing regulations governing road transport are good. However, adherence thereto and the enforcement thereof is absolutely lacking. Disciplined and firm control is required. 

Many of the actions which need to be taken and/or put in place affect different departments and/ or ministries, and strong, outputfocused, combined action from the stakeholders is required. The challenge is daunting, but with a firm approach a better future scenario is possible. 

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Frank Wagner CEO, Unitrans Supply Chain Solutions

First of all we would also like to congratulate the Minister on his appointment and look forward to working with him. Priority areas which we would like to see addressed by the new Government are: 

1. Roads 

Traffic congestion and road surface conditions are a major problem for our industry and add significantly to the operating costs of the road freight industry. Already logistic costs as a percentage of GDP in South Africa are among the highest in the world. Negative sentiment towards the trucking industry is growing and we are often perceived as the cause of the problem. The fact is that road, rail and pipeline capacity has simply not matched the growth in the freight volumes required to be moved. Coupled to this, under spending on road maintenance has caused a steady deterioration in road surface conditions over many years. Our industry contributes billions of Rands annually in fuel levies, toll fees and taxes which we do not see channelled into the infrastructure we require. 

2. Law Enforcement

We support all efforts to bring about an industry compliant with the Road Traffic Act and all other legislation governing the movement of goods by road. Our industry is very capital intensive and investment in trucks requires a level playing field applicable to all operators in the industry. Non-compliant operators, many from neighbouring countries, should be stopped. Therefore, consistent effective law enforcement is required through adequate resourcing and training of the traffic authorities and rooting out of bribery and corruption. 

3. Partnership with Industry

Recognised industry associations, such as the Road Freight Association, should be given better recognition and could provide valuable assistance to the Department of Transport to address these issues. 

4. Co-operation with/Co-ordination between Government Departments 

Interaction between departments is lacking but many issues faced by the industry fall within the jurisdiction of other departments. For example: 

• Cross border delays

• Fuel supply

• Security (hijacking, explosives transport, health, safety, environmental issues.) 

   

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• Urgently privatise Driving License Testing (similar to Roadworthy Testing Centres). 

• Make it compulsory to be a member of the RFA so as to regulate industry 

• Re-look at investing in the setting up of Advanced Driver training centres. (Similar to the old Chamdor Training Centre).

   

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1. Speed-up spending on the rehabilitation of the road network. 

2. Establish a PPP (private-publicpartnership) to address the specific skills shortage in the transport industry (drivers, logistics, after sales and sales). 

3. We need Government to lead a pro-active team consisting of all stakeholders to jointly develop, agree and implement an all inclusive strategy to public sector transport in South Africa. 

    

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• Banking practises/policies in the trucking industry. 

• Practical law enforcement – compliance for operators. 

• Realistic contractual standards between operators and subcontracting companies to enhance viability, industry capacities, safety and service levels.