Lwazi Mboyi - The flow of people and goods across our borders

Overseeing the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA) which has received seven consecutive clean audit outcomes, Lwazi Mboyi finds himself at the helm of an organisation which is key to economic activity and the flow of people and goods across our borders. This year the C-BRTA is celebrating its 25th anniversary, having been formed through the CBRT act of 1998. Last year the C-BRTA launched its Cross Easy system, which has digitised the permit issuing process, with the roll-out of more online tools planned for this year. Here Chief Executive Officer Lwazi Mboyi takes us through the work they do, the role of technology in their work and also reflects on C-BRTA’s successes.

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE?

Our mandate is to facilitate the seamless movement of passengers and goods across the borders. We execute this mandate through the four core functions, namely; facilitation, regulation, advisory and law enforcement. My key responsibilities include implementing the vision for our organisation and leading the executive team as well as the entire organisation towards attaining the set vision. The crossborder road transport industry is a very complex terrain to navigate due to the fact that it has many stakeholders who have clashing and competing interests, so part of my responsibilities is to lead the C-BRTA’s strategic stakeholder management initiative as part of our bigger agenda of forging partnerships with stakeholders who have a role to play in taking the industry forward. My main responsibility is to lead as well as provide strategic direction and allow the executive team and management to execute.

PLEASE SHARE SOME OF YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS AS CEO

Proud moments as the CEO of the C-BRTA would include us signing off on an annual report after receiving a clean bill of health from the Auditor General South Africa. Our Agency has received seven clean audit outcomes for seven consecutive years. This shows our commitment to clean governance and I’m proud to be leading an organisation that is determined to do things the right way. More importantly, it was when we launched our Cross-Easy system in 2022 which migrated our permit issuance processes from a manual system to an online system through which operators could apply for their permits online from anywhere in the country and beyond. This contributed to one of our key objectives of ensuring reducing operational constraints for the cross-border road transport industry.

WHAT MAKES 2023 A SPECIAL YEAR FOR YOUR ORGANISATION?

This is a special year for the C-BRTA because it marks the Agency’s 25th year anniversary. The Agency was established on the 1st of April 1998 so this year marks 25 years of its existence. This milestone, on the one hand, provides an opportunity for us as the Agency to look back to take stock of the challenges we encountered and the successes we registered throughout the years. On the other hand, it provides us an opportunity to look at the future with the intention of reshaping the C-BRTA into a leading regulator on the continent and a force to be reckoned with in the cross-border road transport space. In 2023, we will also be launching additional online tools for the benefit of the operators. These include the C-BRTA permit application and administration APP which will provide more capabilities for the operators to access our services.

HOW HAVE THE ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY IMPACTED ON C-BRTA?

Technological advancements are important for businesses because they bring about the necessary and essential innovations which are required to ensure efficiencies. To this effect, the C-BRTA has adopted a modern and innovative approach to its Information Technology (IT) strategy. The Agency plans to leverage its IT business assets to generate as much value as possible for internal and external stakeholders, customers and users. The potential of Information Technology to transform how we work and how we deliver services has never been greater and this has been further emphasised by the global pandemic.

Only through cross-border collaboration can the C-BRTA achieve truly impactful regional and global innovation and modernisation. When it comes to cross-border collaboration, there is a need to think about initiatives on regional, continental, and global level. This helps governments to identify how various solutions can protect against challenges such as the socio-economic risks caused by the instability of deteriorating natural environments, pandemics, and extreme weather events.

Importantly, it is vital for African governments to drive the evolution of public sector innovation across the continent and globally. The most impactful innovations are highly targeted and identifying specific sectors for collaboration will maximise the impact of innovations by ensuring that the optimal stakeholders, talents, and skills are engaged, and adequate resources are drawn upon.

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE ORGANISATION’S MAJOR SUCCESSES OVER THE PAST 25 YEARS?

Over the past 25 years, we have worked consistently to profile the role of the cross-border road transport industry. This work included working with various stakeholders in South Africa and across the continent to demonstrate the critical role that transportation, specifically crossborder operations, play in enabling trade and ultimately driving economic development. For us as an Agency, we come from an era in which we were issuing permits to the transport operators manually, which was taxing and cumbersome.

In recent times we moved from this and introduced an electronic permit administration platform called the Cross-Easy Permit Application System. With this system, we have saved our operators time and money by affording them the convenience of applying for permits from the comfort of their offices anytime. This is one of the great innovations which we are proud of as an Agency. We have also deployed smart law enforcement tools along the corridors which help us to conduct law enforcement efficiently. We have strengthened relations with various authorities on the continent with the objective of ensuring harmonisation in the region. Furthermore, we have successfully lobbied for the commercialisation of the Kosi Bay border post with effect from 1 April 2022 and a 24-hour operating regime at the Lebombo border post.

DO YOU HAVE A MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION FOR OUR READERS?

As the C-BRTA, we take pride in rendering services to the crossborder road transport operators and the industry at large. This service goes a long way because it licences the operators to ply their trade, which is to transport passengers and goods across the borders. This is not an easy space to navigate but working hand-in-hand with the operators and other member states in the region, we have enabled trade in the region. With this work, we are confidently assuring South Africans and Africans in general that we will continue to strive for efficiencies in the cross-border road transport sector to ensure that Africans, in their countries of origin, enjoy products and services from other countries.

This is what trade is about, and the cross-border road transport industry carries the hopes of millions of Africans in as far as trade is concerned. In general, our work inspires Africans to look forward to enjoying goods and services from other countries and we will, working jointly with our stakeholders, improve the levels of trade on the continent. With these few words, we would like to encourage the SMMEs to join the sector as well as call for businesses which are well established to embrace transformation and work with previously disadvantaged individuals. This way, we will all become a collective force behind a better movement of people, goods and services across the borders.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Tel: +27 (0)12 471 2000

Email: permits@cbrta.co.za ethics@cbrta.co.za customercare@cbrta.co.za

Website: www.cbrta.co.za

Physical address: 350 Witch-Hazel Ave, Eco Point Office Park, Block A, Eco Park, Centurion, Pretoria