March 2023 | BUSINESS FLEET AFRICA
WWW.BUSINESSFLEETAFRICA.CO.ZA
Editor
Reuben van Niekerk
reubenvn@vodamail.co.za
082 837 8801
Editor-at-large
Suzanne Walker
suzanne.walker3@gmail.com
083 3789 664
Contributors
Roger Houghton
houghtonr@mwebbiz.co.za
082 371 9097
Publisher
Jacques Wilken
jwilken@mweb.co.za
083 299 7312
Supplement Editor
Tristan Wiggill
Tristan@businessfleetafrica.co.za
Advertising and Marketing
Charlene Kruger
charlene@businessfleetafrica.co.za
076 807 4613
© 1997 WCM Media CC
Disclaimer
While all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure the
accuracy of information supplied,
neither the editor, the proprietors,
nor the publishers can accept
responsibility for any inaccuracies,
damages, or injury which may arise
there from.
Government needs to step in
The proliferation of car guards and street vendors directing traffic
during loadshedding is a serious concern, and traffic authorities
must do more to ensure the proper flow of traffic during times
when traffic lights are not functioning. The Automobile Association (AA) agrees that
untrained pointsmen who direct traffic could be responsible for more harm than good and
should be discouraged from this practice.
While the intention is noble, and in many cases traffic does flow, it only takes one serious
accident to realise the folly of this endeavour. Since the pointsmen are not legally authorised
to perform this duty, there will be no legal recourse should something go wrong.
The Association says, however, that motorists have no choice but to comply with the
directions given in such circumstances because all drivers are following the instructions. “It
is impossible for one motorist to ignore these instructions as this would cause chaos when
other drivers are complying. This situation requires urgent intervention by traffic authorities
who, in many cases, are simply nowhere to be seen when traffic lights go down,” says the AA.
Loadshedding schedules are widely available, and traffic authorities should do more
to deploy personnel to those areas which carry the most traffic, specifically during peak
traffic times.
Some good news in the 2023 Budget Speech
During the 2023 National Budget recently presented by Finance Minister Enoch
Godongwana government acknowledged that constraints in logistics had negatively
affected economic growth and employment. Shocking is the fact that more than a quarter
of long-distance freight traffic has shifted onto the road in the past five years as a result of
severe deterioration of the freight rail network.
“This is due in large part to historical underinvestment in the network. Prolonged pow-
er failures and poor operational performance of transport industries continue to hamper
operations and investment in manufacturing, mining and agriculture. Several reforms are
under way to improve the performance of the transport sector, specifically freight rail and
to improve the capability of the state.” said Godongwana.
More important than the acknowledgement, was the invitation to the private sector to
get involved in a potential solution. Government is currently pursuing greater competition
in transport and logistics through third-party access to the freight rail sector which is now
in a pilot phase. In addition, several other reforms are in place to support recovery in the
transport sector.
It is great to see that the transport industry formed such a big part of this year’s budget
speech. We can now only hope that these measures are practically put in place because they
should have positive effect on the economy while also contributing to improved road safety.
Reuben van Niekerk
Editor
Editorial
EDITORIAL
WWW.BUSINESSFLEETAFRICA.CO.ZA
Win big with Business Fleet Africa
R10 000 up for grabs in the Business Fleet Africa readers competition.
To kick start 2023, we at Business Fleet Africa will be rewarding one lucky reader with a R10 000 prize.
Each month (From the February 2023 issue) there will be a set of questions, the answers to which
can be found on the pages of that issue of Business Fleet Africa. Each month, up until the July issue,
you can enter as many times as you like. The winner will be drawn randomly on the 31st of July 2023.
To view the second round of questions, enter and for the Terms & Conditions of this competition
please click on the link above.
Enter here