18 Aug 2013

Gerald customary court president, Kgosi Paul Motshwane has implored government to harmonise border charges with those of the neighbouring countries.

Speaking at the mini-transport pitso for the freight transporters in Francistown on August 15, Kgosi Motshwane said the disparity in border charges in different countries discouraged fair competition.

He said government should encourage its neighbours for the implementation of SADC protocol on transport, which advocated for uniform charges. Kgosi Motshwane also implored stakeholders to secure parking spaces for trucks and to minimise theft of goods from the trucks at night. He said the freight industry was the backbone of the economy as other sectors such as mining and retailing depended on it. 

Furthermore, Kgosi Motshwane said it was imperative that freight operators take care of the welfare of their employees to avoid situations that impacted negatively on the economy such as last year’s strike by truck operators in South Africa. 

Kgosi Motshwane said operators should also lecture their employees on issues of HIV and AIDS noting that although he cannot accuse truck drivers, it was evident that villages along the truck routes have high HIV prevalence rate.

The deputy director in the Department of Roads Transport and Safety (DRTS), Ms Evies Joina said the mini Pitso, which was a follow up to last year’s national one, aimed at creating a platform for key partners to deliberate on issues of concern and come up with solutions.

She said growth in freight transport could result in economic growth; hence the need for stakeholders to invest in development of facilities such parking lots.  Ms Joina said once the transport sector is efficient and effective, Batswana would be prosperous as envisaged by the Vision 2016.

On behalf of the small scale goods transporters, Mr Koketso Mmolawa lamented that the introduction of non-loading zones between 0730 and 1630 hours by the Francistown City Council (FCC) in some areas has contributed to crime as some people load stolen goods at night.

Mr Mmolawa complained about some foreign trucks that load goods in Francistown on transit to other countries. 

The Botswana Confederation of Commerce Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) Northern regional chairperson (freight), Mr Abel Khupe complained about some chain stores and mines which are also transporting goods instead of concentrating on retailing and mining respectively. Mr Khupe observed that the lack of support for local truck operators by local companies has led to most Batswana truck operators closing business. Ends