Freight Working Group meeting in Mahikeng
The Department of Community Safety and Transport Management held today the Freight Working Group Meeting in Mahikeng chaired by the Acting Chief Director for Transport Operations Ms Mpho Rantona.
Freight Working Group is a collaboration of sector Departments, Municipalities and Private Sector where issues relating to freight transport logistics within the Province are discussed. The intention is to monitor and identify challenges that are encountered on the movement of freight and to come up with strategies to resolve those challenges.
Mr Thabo Sematle, Director of Transport Terminals reiterated the purpose of the meeting as an intentional effort to ensure ease of transportation of goods and individuals across the North West Provincial roads.
Safety and caution was also taken into consideration for truck drivers. Ms Judith Bester from Truckling Wellness stated that research has indicated that fatigue and mental health are the causal issues of road accidents faced by numerous truck drivers. “At Trucking Wellness we encourage drivers to take caution when driving, to minimise energy drink consumption and seek medical assistance when experiencing health issues”, said Bester. Bester further raised concerns on the amount of downtime provided for drivers, encouraging employers to consider providing truck drivers with sufficient time to recuperate before their next scheduled shift.
Furthermore the Boarder Management Authorities(BMA) provided a clear overview on its plans to tackle the long truck quest at the boarder posts in the North West Province. These causes a significant increase in traffic congestion.
While there has been some concerns that the traffic congestion is caused by boarder customs management. The South African Revenue Services(SARS)at the boarder post and Customs modernization, indicated interventions or measures put in place such as pre-clearance strategy to mitigate challenges experienced at the boarder posts.
Representative from the Transport Education Training Authority (TETA) briefed the stakeholders about
Future skills development and funding opportunities by TETA, urging the youth to apply.
The meeting was inclusive of various stakeholders such as SARS, BMA, TETA ,Tracking Wellness,Road Freight association and Trackers Association.
