Beitbridge ‘Lessons Learned’ Critical to AfCFTA

Transport and freight bodies are calling on Government for a PPP (Public Private Partnership) to prevent future disasters similar to the chaos taking place at the Beitbridge border post on the Zimbabwe border.

The call comes from the Federation of Eastern and Southern African Road Transport Associations (FESARTA) and the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) - key players in the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).  The organisations point out that the losses of both human life and the cost of delays at Beitbridge could have been prevented. “Government did not consult with industry bodies: it took a unilateral decision to impose stringent Covid-19 testing at the border posts, which resulted in more than 20 kilometre queues on both sides of the border. They only took heed of our proposals once the situation became dire,” says FESARTA Chief Executive Officer Mike Fitzmaurice. The cost to South Africa so far has been five deaths and losses of up to R2-billion.

“These tragic consequences followed after our warnings and advice on what could be done to avoid congestion, were ignored. The need to work together is essential to ensure that this does not happen again”.

SAAFF Chairperson Dr Juanita Maree says that in preparation for the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) commencing in less than a week, action needs to be taken urgently to ensure the smooth flow of goods and people through all borders under this treaty and Beitbridge in particular. “The Agreement is a phenomenal, once in a lifetime opportunity to bring 30 million people out of extreme poverty and to raise the incomes of 68 million others who live on less than $5.50 per day.  Municipalities, government agencies and departments, as well as the private sector on both sides of the border need to collaborate to create capacity and efficiencies to ensure that there are no bottlenecks at the border, so that much-needed economic growth can take place and trade and business can flourish.”

“Trade facilitation measures that cut red tape, ease movement in a secure environment to simplify customs procedures in the AfCFTA framework will help drive US$292 billion of the US$450 billion in potential income gains,” she explains.

Dr Maree says that SAAFF has so far provided 3 000 litres of water to exhausted drivers stuck in the border queue under the guidance of SAAFF’s Border Portfolio Manager, Lin Botha and her capable team.  The team is also organising other essentials at the Border as on-going support.

“A well-established PPP will prevent similar disasters in the future given the critical role the trucking and freight industry play in facilitating AfCFTA’s infrastructure development and trade with transport is the ultimate enabler,” Maree concludes.

______________________________________________ 

SAAFF donated thousands of litres of much-needed water to truck drivers stranded at the Beitbridge Border Post.

SAAFF Chairperson Dr Juanita Maree

Mike Fitzmaurice, Chairperson of FESARTA

__________________________________________________________________________

Issued by

Contact:                    Catherine Larkin – CVLC Communication

Telephone:                087 822 2858

Cell phone:               083 300 0331

Contact:                    Catherine Larkin

Email:                          This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website:                     www.cvlc.co.za

___________________________________________________________________

The South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF)

SAAFF was formed in 1921 and is a national association with members throughout the Republic of South Africa. While it attends to matters of national interest, its constitution permits regions to form chapters of the association, to deal with local issues. Five regions have qualified to establish their own chapters:

• Gauteng
• KwaZulu-Natal
• Eastern Cape
• Western Cape
• Border

The Association is a non-profit organisation governed by a constitution which provides for a board of directors, with a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson. Its directors are highly experienced, senior executives from member freight forwarding companies, who are nominated and voted for by these members. A CEO reports to the Board of Directors and manages and directs the association.

Freight forwarding plays an essential role in international trade and our members are dedicated to facilitating this activity through their involvement in the management of transportation, customs clearing, documentation, third party payments and many other elements of international supply chains. We call the freight forwarder the “architect of transport”. Globalisation and the need to reduce cost over the entire supply chainave re-focused the freight forwarder in ways that are innovative and functional. 

The Federation of Eastern and Southern African Road Transport Associations (FESARTA)

FESARTA is a non-profit Section 21 Company, registered in South Africa. It is a regional road transport association, representing the National Road Transport Associations (NRTAs) in East and Southern Africa at regional level. Its sphere of operations covers the 16 countries in East and Southern Africa, though not all of the countries have effective NRTAs.

South Africa has the largest and most successful NRTA in the region. Eight countries (DRC, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe) have NRTAs which are of varying strength. Five countries (Botswana, Burundi, Swaziland, Uganda and Zambia) are represented by one person behind a desk in a company and who is the chairman of the NRTA.

FESARTA has two main objectives:

• To provide a good service to its NRTA members, through information dissemination, advocacy and solving cross-border problems along the corridors in East and Southern Africa

• To improve the efficiency of transport in the region, lower transport costs and reduce poverty, through working with:

• the three Regional Economic Communities (RECs), COMESA, EAC and SADC,
• the two TradeMarks, TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) and TradeMark Southern Africa (TMEA),
• regional and international donors, e.g. USAID, DFID and
• other regional associations, PMAESA (Port Management Association of East and Southern Africa), ASANRA (Association of Southern African National Roads Agencies), SARA (Southern African Railways Association), FCFASA (Federation of Clearing and Forwarding Associations of Southern Africa) and FEAFFA (Federation of East African Freight Forwarding Associations)