Transformation from the previous Shippers Council (SASC) into the Southern Africa Shippers Transport and Logistics Council (SASTALC) widens the scope of the council, explains Brenda Horne-Ferreira.

The transformation took place in order to widen the scope of the council, and to create a public-private membership organisation that includes logistics service providers, relevant government departments, as well as parastatals. It now incorporates local, regional, continental as well as global collaboration within transport logistics and supply chains, and will facilitate collaboration with other associations, to be a truly representative industry voice.

SASTALC believes that the core functions of this council had to be transformed from ‘emotional lobbying’ to be the aggregator of innovative collaboration advocacy, promotion and communication, and to ensure that the industry works together to improve efficiency and reduce the cost of freight logistics, making Southern African supply chains more globally competitive.

World best practice research for shippers and logistics councils indicates that every economy should have a shippers and logistics council – with a full-time secretariat – which affiliates with regional and global councils. In line with this research, and using the success of the Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative as a benchmark, SASTALC now seeks to follow a similar model.

Today, the mandate of the council is to:

• understand the needs and requirements of its members in order to influence relevant stakeholders
• be the preferred point of entry for cargo owners on collective issues
• be a source of supply chain knowledge with a specific focus on transport and logistics.

The transformation strategy has created a full-time secretariat with representation in the Southern Africa region, which collaborates with role players involved in all modes of transport from both the public and private sectors. At the heart of this is aggregated, innovative collaborative advocacy, knowledge, career and capacity building, as well as networking.

Shippers and their service providers are steadily trading and operating beyond South African ports and corridors. To ensure long-term sustainability and cost-efficiency, and in line with transformation across the industry globally, regionally and locally, the private sector has been called upon by governments to plan, invest in and operate transport infrastructure and services collaboratively.

The signing of collaboration agreements between SASTALC, the Swiss Shippers Council, and Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative (in absentia), and the presence of the Cameroon National Shippers Council, the Congolese Shippers Council, Walvis Bay Corridor Group, Women in Logistics & Transport SA, Youth Chamber of Shipping Africa, SAASOA, SAAFF, Fruit SA, and, to follow soon, the Global Shippers Forum – as well as numerous other NPO industry organisations – endorses the council’s strategy to become the aggregator for its members between local, regional, continental as well as global shippers, transport and logistics councils.

The council is creating synergies that will provide a platform for both private and public stakeholders to conduct business in a seamless manner. The presence of government stakeholders – the MEC of Gauteng Transport, DoT, the mayor of Johannesburg and Sanral – as well as parastatals further endorses government’s early willingness to work hand in hand with the private sector to ensure our country’s supply chains operate efficiently.

The council will work tirelessly to grow the engagement platform to facilitate public-private dialogue in the arena of our transport system, ensuring that our supply chains remain globally competitive.

We look forward to mutually beneficial collaboration, partnerships as well as engagements, and a substantial growth in membership. Membership is not only important for financial sustainability, but also for growth and the effectiveness of our mandate.