Cape express association gets to work

SAA comes on board
RAY SMUTS
IMPROVING communication between head offices and branches, enabling the latter to be kept thoroughly up to date on new rules and regulations, is one of the primary goals of the Western Cape branch of the South African Express Parcel Association. Representing some 100 members in the province, including the big names in the courier industry, regional director Rosemarie McClean is confident regular future member meetings – at least once a quarter – will have a ‘knock-on’ effect in that branches will communicate with their head offices, often located in Gauteng, so they remain aware of issues or achievements at local level. Saepa Western Cape, in existence for some four years but rather loosely based during that time, has lain dormant for the past year but is now a formalised body with Section 24 registration in place. The association has in the past relied primarily on member subscriptions to fund its activities but an approach for assistance to SAA Air Cargo has borne fruit. The carrier has committed itself to a sizeable financial sponsorship, no doubt conscious of Saepa’s collective clout. An interested party at the first Saepa meeting in Cape Town recently was acting SAA Air Cargo manager, Daniel Mundea, who, though not involved with the sponsorship from the outset, feels nothing but good can come from it. “It should be a worthwhile partnership as their services complement ours very well,” he told FTW. Saepa’s Western Cape regional director, Rosemarie McClean, says the Western Cape is a “substantial contributor” to SAA’s business, of which perhaps as much as 80% of total volumes are in the one kilogram or below parcel category. “As Saepa is the only structured body representing the courier industry, SAA realised the benefits of alignment with a forum representing the industry and is the carrier operating a freighter domestically, so the entire industry depends on it as a national airline,” says McClean. Addressing the Cape Town meeting, Garry Marshall, executive director of Saepa, pointed to several hurdles to be cleared in the coming months, among these future pressures by the postal regulator. And these regulations in themselves are an anachronism as the global trend is toward de-regulation, he said. McClean says a small customs sub-committee has now been formed by Saepa in the Western Cape to establish an industry-based relationship with SA Revenue Service, with the specific task of formalising customs concessions for Cape Town, in line with those practised in Johannesburg.