The South African road freight industry is facing severe operational challenges, not least of which is the over regulation when it comes to safety, and the lack of government enforcement of compliance standards.
That’s the view of Crossroads Distribution CEO Pieter Vermeulen, who says there is a risk the industry is over regulating itself to the detriment of compliant operators.
“While we’re doing what we need to do to the letter of the law, non-compliant operators continue to act with impunity, hiring foreign workers at low rates and skimping on maintenance and fleet management, putting themselves and the public at risk,” says Vermeulen.
“We’ve created an uneven playing field by over-regulating, while the rules we’ve set aren’t being evenly applied across the industry, and there’s very little by way of government enforcement to change this status quo.”
Vermeulen’s concerns echo those of Road Freight Association (RFA) CEO Gavin Kelly, who noted the association is “closely monitoring” ongoing efforts by the Department of Transport to enforce stricter safety regulations, with particular attention to Aarto and RTMC initiatives.
In his keynote address at the annual RFA Conference in May, he also suggested that that trucking operators were at risk of going out of business as they struggled to comply with the increasingly arduous legislative and regulatory landscape.
Vermeulen says the industry faces multiple challenges on several fronts, including congestion at border posts and ports due to enormous administration backlogs and failing systems, rampant crime, and labour supply issues.
RFA Chairperson Penwell Lunga concurred, calling on business to play its part in ensuring the industry’s continued growth.
“You are the Man in the Arena,” said Lunga, citing the famous speech by American President Theodore Rooseveld, and highlighting the role of business to uplift the industry despite its many challenges. “Without Trucks, South Africa Stops!”
