Moves are afoot to
change the face of
freight forwarding in
Botswana.
Chairman of the Freight
and Customs Clearing Agents
Association of Botswana,
Lucas Barreto, told FTW he
was committed to seeing the
industry grow and become more
professional.
“The first step is growing
the
membership of the organisation
because it is in the collective that
we have a voice and that we will
gain the power to bring
about change.”
With some 58
companies on
its books, the
association has
been growing
slowly but
surely.
“We have recently appointed a
secretary and have rented office
space for the organisation. This
is good news as it means we are
seeing growth and inquiries
around membership are starting to
increase.”
In fact, says
Barreto, some
of the big boys
of logistics have
joined up.
“And that is
what you want
to see in any
organisation –
you need the big
international
companies to support a local
association such as this. At the same
time you need the local companies
to also be involved as their voice is
just as important.”
The Association has been around
for several years along with the
Botswana Freight Forwarders
Association.
“We have however decided
that for this association to work
we will no longer allow for dual
membership and
have actively
engaged in
growing our
membership in
an effort to grow
the impact that
we can have.”
And so far
so good, he
says. “We meet
regularly with
Customs and take issues from our
members to them. Our aim is to
facilitate trade opportunities, but
also to ensure that the voice of the
freight forwarder and the clearing
agent is heard.”
INSERT & CAPTION
It is in the collective that
we have a voice and that
we will gain the power to
bring about change.
– Lucas Barreto
