Cost, reliability, and predictability are some of the key elements in transport that hugely impact the costs of logistics, as well as the success of supply chains writes Brenda Horne-Ferreira.

At our first business logistics breakfast, centred on ports and maritime issues, we found that the debate was dominated by industry concerns about how present and pending road regulations are going to impact the way we plan and optimise transport businesses.

In spite of great efficiencies in the rest of the supply chain, in the absence of clarity regarding road regulations pertaining to overload control, consignee/consignor responsibility, accountability and law enforcement, ambiguities of pending high cube container regulations, and permissible freight transport hours, our supply chains and costing will be unpredictable and unreliable. They will also not support our country’s vision of an integrated, cost-effective, safe, secure, reliable, sustainable, local, regional, and continental transport system.

From the regional economic communities, our ministers of transport adopt and sign certain regional regulations. We know that these rulings are not just passed in the dark; there is a process of external consulting research that is done. Technical people from various governments participate in technical work groups and collectively come up with proposals that are handed to the ministers of transport to adopt. In November 2014, this process came to finality for signatories.

We must be mindful of on-the-table road regulations pertaining to overload control because we are part of the SADC, COMESA, and EAC tri-partite.

The transit facilitation programme’s overall strategic objective is to facilitate the development of a more competitive, integrated, and liberalised regional road transport market. The project’s purpose is to develop and implement harmonised road transport policies, laws, regulations, standards, and institutions to create efficient cross-border road transport and transit networks.

The main focus is to simplify, harmonise, and standardise commercial vehicle drivers, cross-border transport operators, vehicles, loads, and road infrastructure. The expected result is the implementation of a vehicle load management strategy.

It is important that we are mindful of what is being agreed to at a regional level. Transport-registered, harmonised vehicle regulations and standards along with efficiency of regional transport corridors are desired. It is very important to solidify our transport supply chains in the region. Vehicle dimensions, testing stations, operator registration, abnormal loads, dangerous goods, licencing of commercial drivers, and third party and self-regulation agreements will all become part of the tri-partite region.

When it comes to harmonised vehicle regulations and standards, efficient regional transport corridors, and the proposed implementation process, member states must submit their terms of reference and requests for assistance. These requests will be considered, proposed, and evaluated.

A typical tri-partite document includes the issue of self-regulation, where parties agree that, as a long-term goal, they and their respective member states will strive to achieve self-regulation with respect to vehicle and load management.

Parties agree to amend domestic legislation prior to the implementation of the information management systems being contemplated. This is what is happening at a regional level. We must read this and understand it, in the context that we are now talking about implementation and criminalisation of consignee/consignors in South Africa.

The parties agree to investigate the implementation of a system whereby all persons in the loading chain may be held liable for the overloading of the vehicle, inclusive of the consignor, the consignee, the operator, the owner, the driver, and the loader.

Parties agree that their respective domestic legislation needs to be perused and amended, or additional legislation drafted, to provide for the coordinated effort to control vehicle loads, harmonise enforcement, and provide institutional arrangements in vehicle load control.

It is important that the debate around road regulations and the like in South Africa is integrated in the greater SADC plan