The transport industry has welcomed a decision by Transport Minister Blade Nzimande’s to establish an inclusive Technical Task Team comprising DoT officials and industry to work together on the high cube issue.
The minister has also commissioned the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to research high cube transportation. Nzimande has given the CSIR until June next year to complete the research. Chairman of the Cape Port Liaison Forum, Mike Walwyn, said it was not yet clear who would be on the technical committee but it was imperative that the trucking industry be represented.
“We have an opportunity to work with government and so it would be advisable to keep the team to a minimum but ensure that the right industry and government representatives are on it,” he said. Industry stalwart Kevin Martin, a former Durban Harbour Carriers’ Association chairman, who has been involved with the high cube debate since the moratorium was first implemented seven years ago, told FTW that this was finally a step in the right direction.
“It really is time that this thing comes to a head,” he said. “There are really only two questions to answer when it comes to high cubes. The first is can we, in South Africa, safely move high cubes at heights of 4.6m as we have been doing without incident for years, and the second is can we do it at 4.3m. If the answer to question 1 is yes then surely question 2 is neither here nor there – especially considering the cost implications of a 4.3m height restriction.”
Nzimande, however, has told industry to use the extension of the moratorium well. He called on them to adhere to the laws of the country which, he said, were aimed at levelling the playing field for all economic variables without degrading public infrastructure such as road and associated services. He said finding a workable solution was the first and only priority. The technical task team, like the CSIR, has been given until June next year to come up with solutions and to report back to Nzimande.
This is well in advance of the lifting of the moratorium in 2020 and will prevent yet another crisis as has been the case to date. “I hope that the task team and the CSIR can keep to this time frame,” said Kelly indicating that while it was a tight deadline, it was doable. “This all bodes very well for the road freight industry and our interaction and working relationship with the DoT.”
DHCA chairperson Sue Moodley agreed saying it was an opportunity for industry and the DoT to work together and find an amicable solution and way forward. “We are very relieved that the minister has given us a year to find a way forward on this issue that has become very contentious,” she said. Moodley added that it was far more favourable for industry and the economy as a whole if government and business worked side by side.
We are very relieved that the minister has given us a year to find a way forward on this issue. – Sue Moodley
