The Road Freight Association (RFA) – the largest national trade association in South Africa – is concerned about cross-border transport and the associated regulatory and traffic challenges.

Three issues frequently occur at the border post precinct that either influence travel time or physically manifest at the border crossing, RFA CEO Gavin Kelly tells Engineering News.

The first issue is the goods clearing process, with the RFA and other major players successfully advocating for an ‘easing’ of the process using a pre-clearing system.

This will eliminate drivers having to exit the cab with a stack of documentation that needs to be stamped and signed by border officers or Customs officials who work for the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health, or the South African Police Service.

Usually, this process is prolonged by officials having to determine whether the ‘right’ duties were paid, the contents of the truck are acceptable, or a vehicle should be searched for contraband, adds Kelly.

Consequently, the RFA has developed a close working relationship with the South African Revenue Services (Sars) Customs department in terms of ensuring that trucks and freight vehicles can cross borders as quickly as possible through the clearing process.

Kelly explains that the idea is that freight vehicles cannot head or drive to the border unless they have been cleared to “proceed to the border” from Sars Customs.

He explains that the pre-clearing system has taken 20 years to develop, during which the RFA has attempted to get a variety of departments to agree and then devise sustainable or secure systems.

The second issue pertains to security, specifically smuggling contraband, which the RFA has sought to address by pushing for several border posts to implement large-scale scanners to eliminate physical truck inspections.

Kelly says once the scanners are in place, it is merely a matter of having Sars implement and adhere to a process, during which the operators who do not “play the game” are identified and prevented from crossing.

The third issue is several transporters – and the related clearing agents – are not registered as authorised economic operators (AEO), a process which sees a company involved in the international movement of goods being approved by Sars Customs as complying with internationally accepted supply chain security standards.

Kelly notes that the less “manual” the processes that occur at the physical borders, the less queuing and congestion will occur, lessening opportunities for corrupt activities and false declarations.

The Sars AEO programme introduces different levels of accreditation to provide specific benefits for clients with a specific level of accreditation depending on whether they trade in the regional or international markets.

However, all accreditation levels necessitate that clients comply with the World Customs Organisation’s nonbinding instrument, the Standards to Secure and Facilitate Trade (Safe Framework).

The Sars programme consists of two accreditation levels.

The voluntary AEO compliance programme comprises participating entities’ cooperating with Sars Customs in maintaining high-quality measures in terms of appropriate records of compliance and sufficient financial records, besides other criteria.

The second level, the AEO safety and security programme, is a voluntary supply chains security programme focused on improving the security of entities’ or traders’ supply chains through a documented process.

Kelly suggests that dedicated lanes and gates for AEOs of particular standing be included.

“You split the traffic so that the high commercial loads have dedicated gates and dedicated routes to get through, and can keep flying, because that is where a lot of the cost lies.”

He adds that the challenges at borders have diminished through close cooperation between Sars Customs and the RFA to address these challenges.

Meanwhile, the RFA Convention 2024, which will be held from May 26 to 28, in Hermanus at the Arabella Hotel, will enable attendees to stay informed about key industry developments by engaging with industry experts and thought leaders.

The event will provide an opportunity to gain new perspectives on the challenges facing the industry while allowing for the facilitation of possible solutions.