Infrastructure in South Africa’s logistics sector needs to be a priority, alongside a regulatory framework that has a “no nonsense” approach to criminality, if the country’s roads, rail and transport industries are to thrive and be considered safe again, says professional body Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) safety permits management departmental head Denis Owaga.

Speaking during an RSR and Creamer Media co-hosted webinar this week, he suggested that could be achieved by controlling crime and turning infrastructure development around.

However, this had proven to be a challenge, as the sector was still inundated with unsustainable solutions to issues, political issues driving foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions and a high rate of criminal intent on various routes.

These FDI influences are being addressed, and an amicable solution should be in the works soon, said Road Freight Association CEO Gavin Kelly in response to the same question posed by facilitator Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport: South Africa president Elvin Harris.

Kelly added that it was not “all doom and gloom” as there had been high levels of success in clamping down on crime in the sector, although opportunistic crime when vehicles broke down still thrived.

Instead, he suggested that these persons – who are likely stealing to generate an income and possibly feed their families – could instead be employed to unpack a truck when broken down, and assist with mitigating the situation, rather than stealing.

However, owing to the nature and commonality of these types of crimes, many stakeholders have become reliant on insurance for such incidents.

Harris commented that economic hardship may have further driven the increase in such crimes, as many people across the world do not have meaningful employment or are unemployed.

The South African government, for example, has made several recommendations to address this challenge within its own borders, and has recommitted to these objectives in the National Development Plan when it was formally published.

However, systemic challenges remained around infrastructure as well, which Agriculture Business Chamber of South Africa chief economist Wandile Sihlobo said was concerning, considering that South Africa exported about half of its agricultural products, valued at just over $12-billion a year.

“We’ve been able to achieve [these numbers] each year, but our infrastructure impacts on our level of participation in these markets,” he pointed out, adding that agriculture and mining manufacturers, in particular, needed the issue to be addressed in the logistics space, otherwise “major problems” would start to occur.

Kelly, meanwhile, lamented that “South Africa has made mistakes as a country” and that it was “not learning from the wrongs”.

“We need to consider ways of actually identifying ways to fix the issues,” he stated.

“We are not going to fix this unless we go into modalism and consider our long-term strategies”.

Owaga agreed, referencing plans made in 1998 and after, noting that “while there have been achievements, [South Africa] needs to learn from some of the plans on paper, and bring them to fruition for the country.

“Rail itself has been on the decline for the last decade, and Covid made this worse, especially for those already suffering,” he lamented.