FREIGHT & TRADING WEEKLY

For import / export decision-makers FRIDAY 9 November 2018 NO. 2320

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The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications is expected to present a firm proposal before the end of this month to the department of trade and industry to speed up the issuing of Letters of Authority (LOA) to importers.

Without these LOAs, which provide proof of compliance with SA standards, Customs will not release the goods to importers.

“A key element of the proposition – to be jointly agreed with the private sector and industry associations – will be the acceptance of a certificate of conformity that will be done both overseas and locally by approved conformity assessment bodies before the goods are despatched or put to market,” founder of the EU Chamber of Commerce and Industry in South Africa, Stefan Sakoschek, told FTW.

A nominal payment for the assessment will apply – but on acceptance of that certificate the LOA will be fast-tracked and will be available within five working days.

“This is an enormous step forward,” said Sakoschek, and comes on the back of a concerted drive by the organisation to implement its risk-based approach.

“It’s what we have been working on for the past four years. In September 2016 the NRCS and the dti, in a submission to parliament, committed to a risk-based approach to the issuing of LOAs – and that included pre-shipment inspection.

“This approach has made some progress," said Sakoschek. “They have managed to soak up some of the backlog, but it’s building up again as the festive season approaches.”

Mark Saunders of the SA Domestic Appliance Association (Sada) agrees that the organisation is moving in the right direction. “We have

to give them a bit of credit for rolling out their risk-based approach. We haven’t seen the full effect yet but speaking to members of the association, it appears people are starting to see slight improvements. We’re by no means up to any global or gold standard but there signs of improvement.”

In terms of the mandate from the dti that LOAs will be issued within 120 days, Saunders said many were still not meeting the deadline.

He told FTW that one of his LOAs was on 180 days.

“They’re still struggling with resources and don’t have enough funding so the systems are not in place to facilitate their objectives,” said Sakoschek.

“They want to see implementation by the second quarter of 2019 – and for that

to happen they need to make rapid decisions now.”

There appears to be industry consensus that the right structure is in place at the organisation. The CEO Edward Mamadise has been confirmed after operating in an acting capacity for some time.

Bongani Khanyile has been appointed to head up the modernisation process which is key to the risk-based approach.

A lot of groundwork has been undertaken over the past few months and the next step will be to implement the outsourcing of some of the conformity assessment to private sector bodies.

It is expected that two or three conformity assessment bodies (CABs) will be appointed and will be recognised by the NRCS. “This means that exporters in the country of origin will be able to use one of those bodies to get a certificate of conformity (COC) which will be the basis for fast-tracking the LOA. This

NRCS takes constructive action to speed up issuing of LOAs

Thulani Dominic Mashewula of On Juty Trading was the lucky winner of FTW’s reader survey conducted via our online portal, FTW Online, last week.

He wins R1000 for entering the competition which sought to establish the relevance and accessibility of our news.

We were overwhelmed by the positive input. ‘Informative, relevant, up to date’, ‘A must read for all’, ‘News items are relevant, concise and to the point’ were just some of the reader reponses.

FTW reader wins R1000

FTW deputy editor Eugene Goddard draws the name of the lucky winner in our FTW readership survey.

To page 12

A key element of the proposition will be the acceptance of a certificate of conformity by approved bodies.– Stefan Sakoschek

“

2 | FRIDAY November 9 2018

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Audit Bureau of Circulationsof South Africa

transparency you can see

RCG External PolicyThe South African Revenue Service (Sars) on 31 October released its 11-page “Reporting of Conveyances and Goods – External Policy”, effective on 01 November.

The policy relates to cargo entering South Africa that must be reported in accordance with sections 7 and 8 of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964. All cargo reports and manifests must be submitted electronically in terms of Rule 101A.01A(2)(d)(ii) to the Act, and a road haulier crossing any South African land border-post with commercial cargo must submit a manifest in respect of all such cargo carried on the truck.

Registration, Licensing and Designation – External PolicyOn 31 October Sars released its 23-page “Registration, Licensing and Designation

– External Policy”, effective on 01 November.

The policy deals with the types of clients required to be registered, namely (i) Automotive Production Development Programme (APDP); (ii) Approved exporters; (iii) Cargo reporter; (iv) Electronic communication with Sars; (v) Exporters (local or foreign including continuous transmission commodities); (vi) Importers (local or foreign including continuous transmission commodities); (vii) Special Economic Zone (SEZ) operators, designated Customs controlled areas within an SEZ; (viii) Manufacturers in terms of Drawback Items 501.00 to 521.00 to the Act; (ix) Producers for preferential trade agreements and Generalised System of Preference (GSP); and (x) Rebate users in terms of Schedule 3, 4 and 6 to the Act; and (xi) Registered agents in terms of Rule 59A.01 to the Act.

Application to Submit Cargo Reports – External ManualSars on 31 October released its 14-page “Application for Registration to Submit Cargo Reports – External Completion Manual”, effective on 01 November.

The manual describes the mandatory particulars required to register cargo reporters in terms of the provisions of Section 8(1) and the Rules to the Act, for the purpose of receiving and processing of sea, air, rail or road cargo reports.

The manual does not cover the registration requirements as stipulated in the “Registration, Licensing and Designation External Policy”, nor the reporting requirements for all conveyances and cargo reports.

Completion of Declarations – External ManualOn 31 October Sars released its 80-page “Completion

of Declarations – External Manual”, effective on 01 November.

The manual describes the completion and presentation of the Customs clearance declarations (CCD) when goods are imported; removed in transit/bond; exported from the local market or ex warehouse; and when goods are moved between South Africa and the BLNS (should be BLNE) countries.

The manual serves to ensure uniform implementation of Customs procedures in the CCD process. These guidelines take account of both current and future implementing provisions and procedures.

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A South African logistics company has become the first company in Africa to be approved as a Transported Asset Protection Association (Tapa) Parking Place Operator (PPO) for a certified truck parking site.

This follows the Tapa Europe, Middle East and Africa (Emea) launch of its Parking Security Requirements (PSR) programme in August this year to “build a growing network of secure parking places for high-value, theft– targeted goods travelling in supply chains across the Emea region”.

PSR marketing coordinator for Tapa Emea, George Wiessing, told FTW that Tapa had identified a “massive gap” in the provision of secure, comfortable parking spaces across the Emea region.

“Numerous countries in the region impose mandatory rest times for truck drivers, plus there are border delays – with high levels of violence and crime reported at some southern African borders. But there are insufficient rest stops and trucks just

park anywhere along a trade route, thus increasing the risk of theft or damage to goods,” said Wiessing.

He said Tapa – which consists largely of supply chain professionals – has 20 years’ experience in ensuring transported goods are safeguarded and suggested that Tapa-certified parking sites would therefore provide the benefits of that experience.

“We have a number of

procedures and protocols to which our PPOs must adhere and we have included independent

auditing requirements as well as the vetting of employees and sub-contractors at these facilities to minimise risks,” explained Wiessing. He said that in developing these

facilities in conjunction with the industry, Tapa was basing these on global industry best practices.

He agreed that safety could “never be guaranteed” but pointed out that it was just like individuals putting up fencing and locks on their homes. “We know it will be a deterrent because we are making it harder for criminals,” said Wiessing.

He said there were different levels of standards which applicants could fulfil and that eventually trained armed guards could form part of the PSR.

“Furthermore, in developing these standards, we are looking beyond the safety of the truck drivers, the cargo and the multimillion rand truck itself but towards the comfort of drivers as well.”

According to Wiessing this could include bathroom facilities and possibly restaurants. FTW has often highlighted the plight of truck drivers who bemoan the fact that there are not enough rest stops along the major trade highways in southern Africa, which they say exposes them not only to crime but to poor hygiene. Bridgewater Logistics is the certified South African operator.

Security association looks to provide safer truck stops

There are insufficient rest stops and trucks just park anywhere along a trade route, thus increasing the risk of theft.– George Wiessing

“

Durban Port users have commended Transnet for its handling of the threat of pending severe thunderstorms and strong winds last week.

The port authority temporarily closed the port as a precautionary measure and issued several notices to port users last Tuesday instructing ships, with the exception of some vessels, to depart from berths and head out to sea. Transnet said in one of its notices that wind speeds of up to 45 miles per hour were expected to hit the area.

Transporter and member of the Durban Harbour Carriers’ Association, Kevin Martin, said port management had made the correct decision to shut the port given the severe weather that had impacted Port Elizabeth harbour and the warning of severe thunderstorms and winds that were expected to hit Durban. 

“I think they handled it correctly especially after that crane got blown into the water in Port Elizabeth and after last year’s bad storm during which ships broke their moorings and there was a lot of damage in the harbour,” Martin said.– Lyse Comins

Thumbs up to Transnet

4 | FRIDAY November 9 2018

It is estimated that as much as 1800 litres of fuel is carried in a false belly tank.“

Truck operators across southern Africa have applauded the Zambian Revenue Authority (ZRA) after 60 trucks were impounded over a fuel smuggling scam recently.

According to a spokesman for the ZRA, trucks with concealed false bellies containing fuel were found during crime-fighting operations at several border posts in the country.

The spokesman said investigations were ongoing but authorities had found that fuel was being smuggled from Namibia via the Katima Mulilo border post as well as from Mozambique through the Chanida border. It is estimated that as much as 1800 litres of fuel is carried in a false belly tank.

Four trucks have been seized by Zambia at Katima Mulilo where seven more were detained and 23 were impounded at Chanida. At Chirundu, the border post between Zambia and Zimbabwe, a total of 30 trucks were impounded, 15 of which were found to be carrying illegal fuel.

Zambian trucking operators in particular have welcomed the move to root out crime.

One truck operator, who spoke to FTW on condition of anonymity, said it was a great effort by the ZRA. “It really is good for our industry as a whole. It is very difficult to compete

in a tight market as it is, but when one has trucking companies operating on cheap illegal fuel it becomes near impossible.”

Diesel remains one of the biggest operating costs for trucking companies, and according to the ZRA the fuel was being smuggled into Zambia for internal trucking operations within the country.

He said the seized trucks would be forfeited to the state in accordance with Zambian law.

The exact cost to the Zambian government in terms of lost revenue collection or the amount of

illegal fuel was still being calculated, he said.

According to Gavin Kelly, acting CEO of the Road Freight Association, any move to deter crime is a good move.

“The actions taken by the Zambian authorities give the industry hope

that there are concrete moves to remove the unlawful and illegal transportation, smuggling and collusion by criminal elements in the neighbouring continues,”

he said. “There is the perception that nothing is done – so this is very good news. Obviously the two ends of the “ring” need to be investigated or followed up

as that is where the greater problem lies in creating the market that drives this practice.”

But with the Zambian borders placed on high alert, Kelly said it was important that the Zambian authorities’ good work did not unnecessarily negatively affect transporters who wished to operate legally and take all measures necessary to be compliant.

The ZRA has in the meantime sent out a circular on standard procedure on verification of acceptable fuel tank capacity for trucks entering the country.

“It has been observed that most of the trucks entering the country in transit or where it’s the final destination have modified tank capacity,” reads the circular from Kwegyer Msimuko, ZRA deputy commissioner for operations. “These guidelines are hereby issued to address the loss of revenue through smuggling of fuel and to ensure that we minimise the inconvenience to the law-abiding transporters carrying fuel for own consumption.”

He said it was important for truck operators to know that any additional tanks fitted beyond manufacturers’ specifications must be connected to the fuel system of the truck when entering Zambia.– Liesl Venter

Truck operators welcome seizure of trucks carrying illegal fuel

Four trucks have been seized at Katima Mulilo where seven more were detained.

Around 18 000 jobs or 1.8% of the total were shed by the transport sector between the second and third quarter of 2018, according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey by Stats SA.

However, the good news is that the combined formal and informal sectors of the industry are supporting 8 000 more jobs than they were this time last year – an increase of 0.8% in the head count, to 996 000.

In the third quarter Gauteng was by far the biggest employer in the sector – at 389 000 jobs, followed by KwaZulu-Natal (176 000) and the Western Cape (160 000).

Employment of women by the transport industry rose by 6.7%, while that of men dropped by 0.6% year-on year.

This overall increase is in the face of a net decline of 125 000 jobs in the formal sector between the third quarters of 2017 and 2018.

The biggest losses were in finance and other business services (69 000), mining (40 000) and manufacturing (35 000) industries.

Employment gains were recorded in seven of the nine provinces in Q3: 2018

The largest employment increases were recorded in Limpopo (41 000), Gauteng (22 000) and Mpumalanga (20 000). Free State (14 000) and Eastern Cape (13 000) recorded employment losses. – Ed Richardson

Job losses in transport sector

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Adele Mackenzie

The European Agreement Concerning the International

Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) is due for a regulation update in January next year and, since South African regulation is aligned to this, new regulations around the transport of dangerous goods are expected to be announced next year.

“Since we do not have the

expertise in South Africa, the country decided to follow European standards. We write our South African National Standard (SANS) regulations according to the ADR regulations,” said managing director of DGR Compliance Solutions, Eddie Crane, adding that

the legislation was “massaged slightly” to

take South African road conditions into account.

He could not provide a definitive date for implementation

of the new regulations in

South Africa, but said it would depend on how soon the new SANS regulations were written.

Crane told FTW that

there were currently 42 SANS regulations governing the road transport of dangerous goods and that the ADR in Europe was changed every two years in the odd year.

“The South African government recommends – as we do – that there is a SANS update every year,” he said.

In May this year regulations for SANS 10231 and SANS 10232 were amended, revising certain operational requirements including changes to dangerous goods declarations, insurance, equipment that must be carried on the vehicle, proper

packaging, and a safety dress code called Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for drivers.

“This includes the fact that vehicles carrying dangerous goods should

always be travelling on a national road, unless required to do local deliveries or collections,” said Crane, who stressed the importance of training for the dangerous goods industry.

“A qualified person has to be trained by a certified training provider that is accredited with both the Department of Transport and the Transport Education and Training Authority

(Teta).” He said that this training was required for a number of sectors of the industry – the operator (transporter), the consignee and consignor. “There is different training for each sector – and there is some overlap.”

Commenting on compliance for the transport sector he told FTW the problem was awareness. “Many operators (transporters) and consignors and consignees remain unaware of changing legislation but it’s critical that they take responsibility for educating themselves,” he said.

According to Crane there are “millions of insurance claims” that are not paid out every year due to non-compliance with dangerous goods regulations. “If only one of the parties does not comply, the whole claim is affected,” he cautioned.

New dangerous goods legislation on the cards

The South African government recommends — as we do — that there is a SANS update every year.– Eddie Crane

“

6 | FRIDAY November 9 2018

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A recent global survey has identified budget constraints and constantly

changing regulations as key challenges to compliance in the dangerous goods sector.

Conducted by US-based dangerous goods labels, packaging and technology provider, Labelmaster, the survey covered dangerous goods and hazardous chemicals,

Professional Aviation Services general manager, David Alexander, however dismissed the finding as “total garbage”. He told FTW that anyone using these reasons as an excuse for non-compliance with dangerous goods regulations was not only being disingenuous but also dishonest.

“Dangerous goods regulations change infrequently, perhaps once a year, as it is a hugely complicated endeavour,” he said. “For example, in airfreight, all dangerous goods regulations must be changed

through the International Civil Aviation Organisation and all 192 member countries must be given time to look at and consider these changes. This can take three to five years.”

Alexander noted that if the new regulations were agreed upon, they would then slowly – emphasis on slowly – find their way into national legislation and International Air Transport Association regulations.

He said that the only deviations in this process

could be seen when new threats had been recognised and needed to be addressed immediately.

“When lithium battery-powered hover boards had just entered the market, there were several instances where they caught alight during transportation and this led to airlines announcing that they

would no longer carry these products,” he added. “However, this is an exceptional occurrence and does not happen regularly.

“All modes of transportation have the same source documents on dangerous goods and the main categories for dangerous goods haven’t changed in years.”

According to Alexander, the largest reason for the continuous low levels of compliance in the dangerous goods space is the reluctance to invest money in training and proper declarations.

“Let’s not beat around the bush, compliance is expensive and some companies are unwilling to pay up,” he said. “But I have zero patience for those trying to get away with not being compliant in the handling and transportation of

dangerous goods because it is a small amount of money compared to the risks these

products pose to the public; people can die.”

FTW4193SDJetX Airfreight 70x206mm_50Year.indd 1 12/09/2018 11:01:33

Dangerous goods regulations change infrequently, as it is a hugely complicated endeavour.– David Alexander

“

Global dangerous goods survey results ‘flawed’

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The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has adopted the new e-Dangerous Goods Declaration (e-DGD) standards.

“The e-DGD is an electronic approach to manage the association’s Dangerous Goods Declaration (DGD), leveraging industry initiatives to digitalise data and embrace data-sharing platform principles,” said Nick Careen, senior vice president, airport, passenger, cargo and security at Iata.

He said implementation of the e-DGD required cooperation of all stakeholders, including shippers, forwarders, carriers, ground handling agents and third-party providers.

“The benefits of implementing the e-DGD with clearly defined data governance include improved transparency, traceability and data quality. This, in turn, will improve process efficiency and reduce errors and

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Dangerous goods standards go digital

Frankfurt Airport became the first to handle an electronic dangerous goods declaration last month.

Shipping container fires may occur on a weekly basis, with statistics indicating that there is a major container cargo fire at sea roughly every 60 days, according to international transport and logistics industry provider of insurance and related risk management services, TT Club.

“There have been several well-publicised ship-board explosion and fire incidents involving laden containers over the past few years. As the size of container ships has increased, so has the potential risk and consequence of a large explosion or fire incident,” said Peregrine Storrs-Fox, risk management director, TT Club

“Much effort is under way internationally to prevent such incidents. This ranges from looking more closely at all elements of the cargo shipping process as well as seeking to strengthen ship-board processes,” he added.

Container fires increasing

8 | FRIDAY November 9 2018

Large vessels and less hands on deck have significantly affected risk mitigation related to ocean freight with wider implications for the parties involved in the relevant supply chain, a master mariner has told FTW.

Malcolm Hartwell, director and head of transport at Norton Rose Fulbright, said that “huge container ships bring increased liabilities.

“The bigger the container ship, the bigger the fire risk as most of the containers

are completely inaccessible by the ever-shrinking crew on board.”

According to Hartwell, some post-Panamax vessels can carry as many as 22 000 containers yet they only need a crew of 13 as per international legislation.

“In the past ships were much smaller and you had a crew of 40 to 50 people. It was easier to get to fires. These days hatches are so big if the container is in the middle you can’t get anywhere near it.”

Apart from the apparent risk of sailing a massive

vessel that’s stacked to the rafters and understaffed

to boot, lines are rarely expanding their crew because of cost.

“Why should they have to?” Hartwell argued.

“If they comply they feel there’s no reason to. In the end

it’s a numbers game and if they can save on

extra expense they will.”It means that

shipowners, shippers, receivers, freight forwarders, container operators and their liability insurers are all affected by the increased exposure and possible consequences of unforeseen events.

“All parties in the logistics chain must re-assess their exposure to claims for damage to ships and other cargo. Even goods that are not defined as hazardous by the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code.”

Hartwell also stressed that, whereas in the past there used to be a higher frequency of incidents at sea, such as goods toppling over, these occurrences had been limited.

“We used to have ten small claims a year. Now we have one big claim every two years.”

One such claim is ongoing and involves the APL Austria, a Liberian-owned vessel that started billowing smoke in February 2017 south of Cape St Francis, resulting in it being pulled into the Port of Ngqura.

Well over a year later, claims surrounding the Austria fire have reached $30m.

“Cargo on the Austria was initially found to be innocuous but it turned out to be hypochlorite and the ship was on fire for several days.”

But it’s another on-board fire at sea, and one that

took place in 2012, around which Hartwell has built a solid case in favour of comprehensive ocean freight cover.

“In 2012 a disastrous fire took place on the MSC Flaminia, a 300m-long modern vessel capable of carrying 7000 containers. It was bound from New Orleans to Antwerp and an explosion and subsequent fire took place in a container of divinylbenzene which had spontaneously combusted.”

In the resulting blaze, three crew lost their lives, thousands of containers were destroyed, and the German-owned ship sustained serious damage.

Naturally, MSC bore the brunt of initial blame but the line also looked into the extent of shared responsibility.

“MSC turned around arguing that the container operator and the owner of the cargo must also pay. It was interesting because what they were essentially saying was that because the other parties knew what cargo it was, they should’ve done something about.”

In the litigation that

ensued, and in keeping with various international carriage regimes, in particular the Hague-Visby Rules, it was found that MSC was not at fault because they had adhered to the relevant rules in providing a seaworthy ship.

Hartwell explained that in passing judgement against various shippers and container operators, “the

court said because of the volume and speed and due to containers arriving at port to be loaded on board a ship, there was no way that a ship owner such as MSC could keep track

of everything that was on a vessel.”

He added that although insurance was still widely regarded as a grudge purchase, and although smaller parties without the necessary capital saved on expense through minimised insurance, the necessity of comprehensive cover was expected to find wider traction in the market.

“Bigger and better may be cheaper in the long run but bigger vessels have created their own hazards.” – Eugene Goddard

Case of onboard fire delivers interesting judgement on liability

Bigger and better may be cheaper in the long run but bigger vessels have created their own hazards.– Malcolm Hartwell

“

Continued f luctuations in the global demand for commodities means that exporters need to be supported by an efficient port system – and that includes the agents handling the vessels and cargo, says Jacqui Wilson, director of THB Shipping & Logistics.

Established three years ago, the Level 2 BBBEE company has grown to the size where its ships agency is handling at least one bulk vessel a day in South African ports.

The ships agency handles the largest number of ore carriers in the country, she says.

“We understand that port services are the vital link between exporters and their

customers. Port delays are costly and impact directly on the credibility of the mine as a reliable supplier.

“If South African mineral exports are to stay competitive then they must move as smoothly as possible

through the ports,” says Wilson.THB Shipping & Logistics

has offices in Saldanha Bay, Richards Bay and Port Elizabeth.

Established by Bremen-based THB, THB Shipping & Logistics South Africa handles commodities such as iron ore, wood chips, coal and mineral sands.

In Port Elizabeth the company has special expertise in the offloading and movement of steel rails, components for wind turbines, as well as other heavy machinery.

“To date we have expedited the exports of more than 40 million tons of iron ore, as well as many thousands of tons of other commodities,” says Wilson. – Ed Richardson

THB founder Robert Drewes (left) and THB Shipping South Africa managing director David Hamilton.

Efficient ports needed to keep bulk exports competitive

Seventeen years from now, Africa must be rid of the menace of plastic waste infesting particularly the oceans surrounding it.

That is the ambitious target the African Marine Waste Network (AMWN) is setting itself in the global war against plastic waste.

The Port Elizabeth- based non-governmental organisation, Sustainable Seas Trust, last week launched an initiative called the Africa Youth Waste Network to rope in the continent’s youth in the battle against mounting plastic waste all across Africa.

War against waste

FRIDAY November 9 2018 | 9

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Service Customs has introduced a

centralised email box.“We need your

help,” Customs manager Moabi Setshedi told delegates at a recent business breakfast. “Typically escalations are sent to us by

email – and probably right now five or six emails will have come through to the management team’s mailboxes. We can’t answer timeously because we are often in in meetings such as this one and are therefore not necessarily available in real time to

help with issues.”To avoid any delay,

stakeholders are advised to direct all queries to: C&E-Escalations@sars.gov.za

“For example, if you send a query at 8am we’ll try to have it resolved in

two or three hours. Trade is asked not to copy us in

on those emails as they clog up our mailboxes because our email boxes only take attachments up to five megabytes.”

This fits with the revenue authority’s strategy to strengthen its responses by providing more dedicated capacity to deal with service issues.

Currently the same people are approached over and over again. The objective of dedicated capacity is to spread the load and speed up the response.– Joy Orlek

Dedicated email fast-tracks escalations

If you send a query at 8am we’ll try to have it resolved in two or three hours. – Moabi Setshebi“

If we don’t invest in developing skills now, two years’ time may be too late.– Beyers Theron

“Joy Orlek

SA Revenue Service, Customs & Excise, has embarked on a strategic drive to address the skills deficit in the organisation.

“We are reviewing the recruitment, training and career planning for customs officers,” acting chief officer Customs & Excise, Beyers Theron, told delegates at a business breakfast recently.

“If we don’t invest in developing skills now, two years’ time may be too late,” he said.

A basic customs course as well as a declaration and inspection course are currently being developed and the first batch of students will soon begin training.

“I have met with our training division and my expectation is that by the end of the year our induction course must be upgraded so that we have an improved entry level course. And we want to include in that course a stronger emphasis on customs law.”

An inspectors’ course is also in the pipeline and will be preceded by a six-week programme that will act as an induction to this course. “The customs officer will have to complete pre-course work over a period of time and this will be followed by a six-to-eight- week customs checking officer’s course.”

The second six-to-eight-week course would incorporate a strong practical f lavour, he added. “There will be at least a full week in a class environment under supervision where the customs officer will be working on practical issues under the supervision of a host of specialists so that they understand every detail of a bill of entry and other aspects of customs.”

Theron expects the course material to be completed by the end of the year so that the first pilot group can begin the training early next year.

“There will be a pass mark which will serve as a prerequisite to checking a bill

of entry.“It’s a

massive programme that we will run over the next year. We’ll look at the skills we currently have in the inspection environment and develop

our staff to operate in that environment. In addition, a skills and competency assessment will kick off soon – not only in the inspection space but across all of customs. This will inform other development areas. We’ll look at every individual role in Customs and develop tailor-made programmes for

the positions in which staff operate.”

And as part of a mentorship programme, all specialists in the organisation will be required, as part of their employment contract, to devote a certain percentage of time to training.

“Our people need to

understand the implications in terms of money and time when stopping an authorised economic operator. They need to understand the consequences of their actions.”

In order to do so, effective theoretical and practical training is critical.

Customs gets serious about training

10 | FRIDAY November 9 2018

The US Department of Commerce has gone on a charm offensive to woo South African investors through its Select USA programme.

Addressing delegates attending a recent investor function held by the US Commercial Service and hosted by the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), Consul General Michael McCarthy used an armoury of hard facts to underscore the strength of his country’s commerce and industry.

According to McCarthy the US’s tally of global

foreign direct investment (FDI) stock stands at $1.7 trillion with 2016 alone yielding $457 billion in FDI.

“We offer an opportunity to tap into one of the most innovative business and technology communities on the planet, with 31% of the world’s total spend in research and development coming from the United States.”

Yet several local entrepreneurs that attended the seminar raised concerns about America’s regulatory environment, additional barriers to entry, and the prohibitive impact of a

strong dollar.But Deon Govender, a

representative from law and policy advisory firm Covington & Burling, said investors shouldn’t allow forex fears to stand in the way of realising their aspirations.

A local enterprise that did exactly that, overcoming massive barriers to find a foothold in the States, was

Sasol whose petrol chemical plant launched in Louisiana in 2011 had a $7bn price tag

attached to it.“Today

Sasol’s investment represents one of the largest single FDI projects in the States,” McCarthy said, and the largest ever in that particular state’s history.

McCarthy also mentioned the base local simulator training and virtual

reality company, 5DT, had established in Florida, and the 40 Nando’s restaurants in the States, “of which there are six in Washington”.

He added that Select USA’s “premier event” was the annual summit held in June. He said this year’s gathering in the capital had been attended by 3000 people from some 66 nations who had been attended to by representatives from 51 US states and economic development departments.

The next summit in Washington will be held from June 10-12.

US woos local investors

Sasol’s investment represents one of the largest single FDI projects in the US.– Michael McCarthy

“

The differentiating factor going forward will be in the ability to fail fast.– Andrew shaw

“

Investment in technology may be costly – but companies that fail to do so will be moving backwards.

That was the message from Dr Andrew Shaw, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, who told delegates attending the monthly Transport Forum in Cape Town recently that while many of the technologies had already been developed and were being piloted, in many cases they were still at the very early stages of the adoption curve.

But, he said, now was not the time to adopt a wait-and-see approach as disintermediation by many small start-up companies had already started in freight logistics. Considering most of these start-ups had no freight or logistics backgrounds, this would only intensify as technology platforms became more robust and mainstream.

“We have entered a period of rapid digital transition,” said Shaw. “Companies have to invest in technology – and considering that a lot of what is on the table will not survive, it is a risky and often costly process.

He said this would in all probability mean that many companies would

find themselves investing in solutions that did not stand the test of time. “The differentiating factor going forward will be in the ability to fail fast. In other words, if you have invested in technology but it is failing, those companies that have the ability to move away quickly and replace it with the right technology are the ones that will go forward.”

According to Dave Ives, director of Digital Transformation at technology solutions company Karabina, which hosted the event, companies have a lot to process at present as it is not simply a matter of digitising one’s systems and processes.

“Every business is becoming a digital business in some shape or form. Companies need to be thinking about how processes are enabled through systems, the impact that it will have on the people in the business and cyber security,” he said.

In addition, many companies going forward would have to rationalise to remain competitive, which meant the digital process was not necessarily an easy one, said Ives, but it was critical going forward.

Erick Bredenkamp, a director at Optsol, said the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0 was bringing change at a faster pace than had ever

before been experienced and business would be under pressure to keep up.

“There is not an industry that will not be impacted by this revolution,” he said.

– Liesl Venter

Disintermediation trend intensifies technology push

A fundamental shift needs to take place within Customs towards a more segmented approach in order to facilitate legitimate trade.

That’s according to South African Revenue Service (Sars) acting chief officer Customs & Excise, Beyers Theron, who said that this was especially relevant in terms of how Customs looked at and reacted to compliance to its business processes and legislative requirements.

“We need to get better in terms of how we make sure that our people are following the standard operating procedures that are in place and how they actually understand legislation and apply it consistently across the board.”

Theron said that Customs was looking to change the way in which it dealt with those who were compliant, those who were unintentionally non-compliant and might not know what needed to be done in order to become compliant, and those who were blatantly and consistently non-compliant.

“We want to create segmentation in the trade

environment whereby we focus our limited resources on really making a change in the little group that is giving us the most problems,” he said.

“We need to shift focus to become an economic role player, an economic facilitator, in many ways for your legitimate trade,” he said. “And I don’t think we get that because we treat our legitimate trade in many ways in the same way that we actually treat the perceived crooks.”

He said that Sars was currently running programmes in the risk space that aimed to improve what the organisation was doing from a risk intelligence and case selection perspective.

Theron pointed out that as soon as Sars was able to get better at what they were meant to do on their side, it was only human nature for industry to follow suit and increase their compliance.

“So if we get that right, then I can facilitate legitimate trade and I can actually put my emphasis on the illicit piece, and in that way also protect the economy and society,” he added.– Nicole Jacobs

Customs to take tailor-made approach to traders

FRIDAY November 9 2018 | 11

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Ask about our UK airfreight blocked space agreements

A task team mandated by the Minister of Transport to investigate the movement of high cube containers on South African roads has had its first meeting.

This comes less than a month after the Minister of Transport, Blade Nzimande, met with industry stakeholders to discuss the contentious high cube issue that was fast spiralling out of control.

The speedy establishment of a task team has highlighted the importance of the matter to the department of transport which has committed to work with industry to find a solution.

Industry and the DoT have been at loggerheads for years over regulation 224 (b) of the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 under the National Road Traffic Act of 1996 that limits the height of a vehicle transporting a high cube container to 4.3m.

Nearly all of the high cube containers in South Africa are moved at a height of 4.6m – and thanks to industry intervention, Nzimande has extended the moratorium that was due to be lifted in January next year. This will see no punitive measures related to regulation 224 (b) taken throughout 2019.

The minister

called for the establishment of a task team comprising government and industry to look at the high cube issue and to report back to his office in six months’ time. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) meanwhile has been tasked with researching the safety of the movement of high cubes at 4.6m.

According to industry consultant Mike Walwyn, who is representing the freight forwarding industry on the task team, real progress has been made in recent weeks.

“We have taken a less aggressive approach and opted to rather get onto the same page with the minister and work with the government to find a

solution,” he told FTW. “We believe this is the best way forward. While the minister has not given us any indication that the height regulation will be changed at the end of 2019, he has opened discussion

and given us a year’s reprieve to find an amicable solution.”

Walwyn said the meeting, which had taken place in Pretoria, had been well represented by government and industry with the

freight forwarding industry, the road freight sector and the harbour carriers present.

A representative from the fruit industry had also attended and would also sit on the task team, he said. This is an important aspect as all of South Africa’s fruit is exported in reefers that are all high cubes.

“The meeting set the terms of reference and agenda for the way forward while the urgency of the matter has been stressed. There is no doubt we are making progress,” said Walwyn.

Whilst not able to share any details of the process or the work of the technical task team, Walwyn said it was amicable and positive.

“The adversarial approach was not getting us anywhere. This way we are involved in

finding a solution that works for government

and for industry,” he said.

The next meeting of the task team is expected to take place in early December. – Liesl Venter

High cube task team gets down to business

This way we are involved in finding a solution that works for government and for industry.– Mike Walwyn

“

LAST WEEK’S TOP STORIES ON

PE gantry crane blocking harbourOne of the port of Port Elizabeth’s four ship-to-shore gantry cranes has been blown over and is blocking the entrance to the harbour.

Extreme weather fears shut down Durban PortThe Port of Durban stopped terminal operations as a precautionary measure in preparation for thunderstorms accompanied by high speed winds that are expected to hit the city.

Transnet treasurer not off the hookThe resignation of former Transnet group treasurer Phetolo Ramosebudi will not exempt him from further disciplinary action, a statement from the state-owned rail and freight company has revealed.

TNPA gets the go-ahead for construction of floating dockThe Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) has given the green light for the construction of the long-awaited multi-

million-rand f loating dock at the Port of Richards Bay.

Transnet announces another suspensionTransnet has suspended its former group supply chain officer, Edward Thomas, pending investigations into various serious allegations of misconduct involving a number of contracts.

Politics stands in the way of workable water plan for the WCWater remains a pressing concern for the Western Cape, impacting severely on the province’s economic growth.

CMA CGM – latest acquisition newsThe CMA CGM Group has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Containerships, a container transportation and logistics company that specialises in the intra-European market.

Citrus industry breaks another recordLemon exporters are predicting record volumes this season – just shy of one million more cartons than last year.

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NRCS takes action

will concurrently do away with the “golden sample” syndrome experienced to date by both NRCS (and SABS)," said Sakoschek

“Fundamentally, and as it will be supporting and assisting the accuracy and completeness of the LOA applications “challenge”, the COC will be submitted to the NRCS together with the LOA application, which will in turn speed up the issuing of the LOA."

All applications will be considered on the basis of the risk-based programme – and the risk ranking will be based on the COC. “In other words, if a blue-chip company is compliant, and further participates – in effect, at a nominal cost in comparison to demurrage or loss of revenue – in what is essentially a “self-compliance” scheme, they would immediately qualify as low risk."

The up-to-now disappointing level of efficiency of the organisation has not however prevented it from applying for an increase in LOA costs and levies.

A 6% increase was due to take effect on April 1,

but wasn’t implemented, according to Saunders. “It is currently with Treasury awaiting approval which I foresee as a mere formality – and charges will be retrospective to April 1 this year.

“We have proposed that while their efficiency is what it is, and market surveillance is what it is, and relatively few compliance companies are paying the levy, it’s not fair to impose above-inf lation increases to the rest of the industry – and this increase is considerably above inf lation.”

Saunders believes that seven days would be a reasonable issuing period.

“120 days makes it very difficult. It’s a long-winded process and puts enormous pressure on any kind of planning system in big multinationals. It also adds huge complexity to processes and means SA is behind the world standard. The result is that global launches can’t go ahead because South Africa is not ready – or sometimes South Africa is not part of a global launch when a new product comes onto the market.”

From page 1

We are increasingly opting for real collaboration with real financial contributions. – Tim Harris

“

Liesl Venter

Collaboration has been identified as a crucial element of the Western Cape’s trade strategy as it moves forward with plans to establish Cape Town as Africa’s main business hub.

“We are increasingly opting for real collaboration with real financial contributions,” said Tim Harris, CEO of the Western Cape’s official trade and investment agency, Wesgro, during the agency’s annual review in Cape Town last week.

“You have to have all three spheres of government involved along with the business sector and civil society. Integral to that it has to be a funded collaboration.”

Harris said collaboration was evident in the phenomenal success of the Cape’s air access project which had contributed 13 new direct routes to Cape Town and 18 route

expansions since July 2015.“While this has generated

an estimated R6 billion for the province in tourism spending, the bigger – and mostly untold – success of this collaborative project has been the impact on exports in this province.”

Harris said growth of 52% had been seen in airfreight exports as a result of the increased belly space in planes and the additional destinations being serviced.

“This project, initially intended to boost tourism, has now resulted in us being a much more viable business and investment hub. It has promoted trade and is

driving our exports,” he said.Involving agencies

from all three spheres of government, state-owned enterprises, and the private sector, the air access project was proof of what could be achieved through collaboration, said Harris.

Another important factor of collaboration was the ability to address red tape and address challenges faster. This ultimately resulted in more efficiency overall.

“Working together we achieve far more,” he said.

With this in mind the agency had launched a confidence campaign,

said Harris, which allowed for various organisations in national, provincial and local government as well as business to drive the conversation around the opportunities for economic

investment in the province.Aimed at the international

investor market, with the tagline ‘a place of more’, the campaign allows for the many opportunities for investment in the Cape to be showcased.

“The key objective of this marketing campaign is to instil confidence in the economy of the Cape and South Africa internationally,” said Harris.

W Cape records 52% growth in air exports