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V I S I T :
W W W . K A P E L E . C O . Z A
FRIDAY 19 June 2009 NO. 1867
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MAKING THE WORLD A SMALLER PLACE
FREIGHT & TRADING WEEKLY
The Freight Community’s Weekly Newspaper for Import / Export decision makers – on subscription
Port ‘monopoly’ slammed – frustration levels grow By Alan Peat The SA shipping industry has hit out at what it described as “the monopoly” running the ports, and slammed its increasing tariffs in spite of an ailing industry and the serious delays in putting the Ports Act into practice. “The industry’s in a very bad
way,” said Andrew Thomas, chairman of the SA Association of Ship Operators and Agents (Saasoa). “Cargo volumes are way down, so are rates. There are soft results for all the big shipping lines, huge pressure within the industry for cost savings, and seeking to create a margin where there often is none.”
Big changes ahead for Customs By Liesl Venter Business will be better at the South African Revenue Service (Sars) with the implementation of an e-release system in July and an electronic cargo reporting system in August. This all forms part of a range of measures being implemented to streamline the importation of goods to help boost trade and reduce the administrative burden on importers, Oupa Magashula, Acting Sars Commissioner told delegates at the South African Association
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of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) annual conference in Johannesburg last week. “We are planning to make business as easy, simple and cost-free as we can for those who are compliant. Voluntary compliance will in turn enable us to focus important government resources at To page 8 Oupa Magashula, Acting Sars Commissioner and Saaff Chairman Basil Pietersen at the annual Saaff conference in Johannesburg.
Looked at in the SA context, what happened? “Our frustration levels are growing,” said Thomas. “We are watching trade volumes sinking rapidly, and this monopoly decides to impose a tariff increase. There is still significant unhappiness in the industry about this.” This is added to the fact
that shipping lines are also seeing their blood pressure spiking as government adopts a slower than snail’s pace about converting the words of the now four-year-old SA National Ports Act into physical practice. According to Thomas, there’s still no regulator. “Oh, he’s there in person,” he said, “and there’s a board all
nicely in place. But until the directives are signed, it can all go nowhere.” The port consultative committees – statutory committees created under the Ports Act – are also still in abeyance. The shipping industry – which was to be represented To page 8