THE DEFINITIVE TRUCKING SITE

In December 1994, FleetWatch bestowed awards on two people who, through their actions, we regarded as being the greatest assets in moving South Africa forward towards a path of democracy. They were Nelson Mandela and FW De Klerk. The award was titled the FleetWatch Friend of the Trucking Industry award with the citation reading: 

For showing exceptional statesmanship in creating a climate for South Africa that is conducive to peace and prosperity in which the road transport industry can play its rightful role in uplifting the life of all South Africans.

The award certificate was presented to a representative of Mr Mandela, who was overseas at the time, and then to Mr FW De Klerk at his offices in the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Those were such great days characterized by the larger-than-life actions of men such as these who were Statesmen in the true sense of the word. Both men took into account the welfare of the nation as a whole rather than their own personal interests, gains or prejudices. It is interesting hearing the ANC of today constantly referring to the ‘collective’ when it comes to decision making. If it hadn’t have been for FW De Klerk breaking away from the collective thinking of his party on the day he walked into Parliament to give a speech which would break the bonds of apartheid and move our beloved country into a new era of reconciliation, peace and growth, the new South Africa would not have been born. And remember Pik Botha’s famous statement against apartheid which certainly did not represent the ‘collective’ view of the NP but which was a courageous and milestone statement. He said: “I am not prepared to die for a sign in a lift.” Botha was referring to the fact that there were separate lifts in buildings for blacks and whites; as there were separate toilets, separate trains, separate park benches, separate parks, separate everything. 

That aside, when I look around today for someone in our political ranks on whom could we bestow such an award, who could be chosen? Who, in the higher echelons of politics, deserves such an award? Who in the ruling party and/or Government – same thing unfortunately - is throwing all his or her weight behind actions which will benefit the country as a whole rather than just the ANC or self. I’m not talking about directly influencing the trucking industry. Rather, people who through their overall actions are working towards creating a climate conducive to peace and prosperity which will stimulate growth. To be honest, I’m also a little scared to give out such an award. Why? Well, I’m not exactly sure if any chosen recipient will be around long enough to receive it? Consider this… 

In the week during which I was at the IAA Truck Show in Hannover, Germany, international truck manufacturers, trailer manufacturers, component suppliers and a host of other companies went about proudly launching their new products onto the market. Not to be outdone by this show of progress and technological advancement, South Africa chose the exact same week to launch its own new product offerings by introducing to the market two new President models – one a sort of temporary prototype and the next a sort of fill-in R&D product which was designed to take over from the discarded former President model which had exclusively dominated the market for so long. This R&D product was intended to satisfy the needs of customers until the new advanced - hopefully face-lifted Z-Series model - is launched next year. 

Right, we’re back in South  Africa from the IAA and the international and local shows are over. Old models are out; new models are in so let’s now go cater to the needs of the market. Let’s go satisfy the customer. But no – it was not to be! While the IAA closed its doors to local and international visitors, South Africa decided to re-open its show. What we then saw was a number of lesser models driving themselves out of the doors of their original manufacturer only to stop down the road and announce they were going to rebadge themselves and form an opposition company which would take consumers back to the basic product offerings promised but not delivered by the original manufacturer. They were concerned about the directors of the original manufacturer breaking away from the highly respected Codes of Conduct and Ethics entrenched in the organisation’s and the industry’s Mission Statement. They were concerned about the self-vested interests of the directors of the company taking precedence over the needs of the customers. What they wanted was a return to those good-old open, honest and transparent value-added customer benefits that all customers used to enjoy. They wanted a return to professional business operations; simple basics like not keeping customers endlessly waiting for promised products to be delivered; putting in after-sales and back-up services that would keep the customer base satisfied and happy when the few products that were delivered failed. They also wanted the kids to be taken out of the boardroom as they were spilling their cool-drinks and popcorn all over the place making a real mess of things. They wanted to go back to an ethos where the customer rather than the directors would be considered King. You know, the simple sort of things that our truck manufacturers, component suppliers and transport operators strive so hard to achieve every day. Of course, the directors of the original manufacturer, who previously advertised and lauded these products as being state-of-the-art, responded to all this by slating the breakaway models as being outdated, unreliable and basically pretty shoddy. All pretty predictable stuff. 

And that’s the problem. While the organizers and exhibitors have kept the show open, the audience is so tired of it all. It’s all sooooooo frustratingly boring though it’s obviously predictable. No forward movement, no growth, no invigorating excitement or new technological innovations and certainly no new script to capture the imagination of the audience. Most of the audience have also seen the show before in another guise with the main actor, affectionately known to his personal mirror as Uncle Bob, strutting his stuff across the stage singing ‘Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, I’m bringing you down.” Basically, the local show is now a total flop and yet the players just keep on acting – for themselves, certainly not for anyone else. Which brings me back to the point of who, through his or her actions, deserves the award for being a ‘Friend of the Trucking Industry’ as was bestowed by FleetWatch on Mr Mandela and Mr De Klerk back in 1994. It pains me to say that there is no-one. There is not one politician I can think of that comes anywhere near to deserving such an accolade. That’s so disappointing. More serious though, is that it is also so scary in that we’re on our own in growing and sustaining our industry.

Patrick O'Leary
Managing Editor