Affiliated to the South African Association of Freight Forwarders

SOUTH AFRICAN ASSOCIATION OF FREIGHT FORWARDERS-KZN

(Affiliated to the South African Association of Freight Forwarders)

1st Floor

Chamber House PO Box 1506

190 Stalwart Simelane Street Durban

4001 Durban 4000

Tel: 031-3351000 Email:

Fax:031-3321288 Website: www.saaffkzn.co.za

Secretaries: Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry

MINUTES of a meeting of the Executive Committee,

held in Indaba Rooms 3 and 4, Ground Floor Conference

Centre, Chamber House, 190 Stalwart Simelane Street,

Durban, on 08 April 2008, at 09h00.

PRESENT: Keith Blond [in the chair] Chairman, SAAFF-KZN

Committee Members Philip Edwards Chair, Publicity & Fund Raising Committee

Marius Geyer Chair, Airfreight Division

Mervyn McGregor SAAFF Director, KZN Affairs/Chair, Budget

and Finance Committee

Kevin Martin Vice-Chair, Harbour Carriers Division

Stephen Naidoo Vice-Chairman, SAAFF-KZN

Emmanuel Ntshangase Chair, Training Committee

Tim Pillay Executive Committee Member

Denise Sodalay Executive Committee Member

Malcolm Sodalay Chair, Harbour Carriers Division

Dave Watts SAAFF-KZN Executive/Chair, Customs

Committee

Member Representatives Louise Dawson Thrutainers

Azad Ismail Micor

Joey Naidoo Clear Freight

Debbie Nortje Hellmann Worldwide

David Scott Hellmann Worldwide

Brian Stephenson DHL Global Forwarding

APOLOGIES FOR: Jacques de Villiers Chairman, Warehouse Division

ABSENCE Alex Moir Executive Committee Member

Kevin Naidoo Immediate Past Chairman, SAAFF-KZN

Paul Sponneck Chair, Membership Committee

Doug Duffy UTI

Lionel Dwyer Safcor Panalpina

Vinesh Maharaj Vopak Terminals Durban

SECRETARIAT: Jenny Otto

1. WELCOME

The Chairman welcomed Committee members and member company representatives, extending a special welcome to Louise Dawson and Azad Ismail, who were attending an Executive Committee meeting for the first time.

2. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee, held on 11 March 2008, copies of which had been circulated in advance of this meeting, were confirmed and signed as a true reflection of the proceedings, subject to the following amendment :

Minute 8.1 : Harbour Carriers Matters (Pg 6)

The sentence commencing, “The second case concerned....” to be deleted in its entirety and the following to be substituted therefor:

“The second case concerned a vehicle arriving at a depot after the gates had been closed. The driver reported that the security guard had indicated he would be prepared to open the gate, provided the driver paid him to do so – in other words a bribe attempt.”

3. MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MINUTES

No matters were raised for discussion under this heading.

4 SAAFF-KZN WEBSITE

It was agreed –

4.1 That the website address should be displayed on the SAAFF-KZN letterhead.

4.2 That Minutes of Executive Committee meetings should be posted on the website.

4.3 That the possibility of automatic removal from the website of ‘sell by date’ articles, such as notification of a problem with Customs or TPT systems on a certain day, be discussed with Clyral Creative Studio.

4.4 That this heading should now be removed as a standing item on the Agenda for Executive Committee meetings. Action: DH Watts and J Otto

5. SAAFF NATIONAL

5.1 Annual General Meeting

5.1.1 Board Nominations : 2008-2009

It was noted that a circular, dated 24 March 2008, had been mailed to Directors and Owners, as well as to the general membership, regarding the voting process in respect of the 2008-2009 National Board. Nominees were :

Basil Pietersen (Chairman)

Roussouw Botha

Paul Cheetham

Ian Cooper

Tony D’Almeida

Dave Gurney

Richard Mallabone

Charles Speed-Andrews

John White

Margrit Wolf

The two positions not voted for were Director: KZN Affairs and Director: Western Cape Affairs. The Chapters concerned had nominated Keith Blond and Mike Walwyn to fill these positions.

5.1.2 SAAFF Constitution : Membership

5.1.2.1 The Chairman drew attention to the fact that the SAAFF Constitution stipulated that an applicant had to be a member of the National body. There was no requirement for the potential member to join a Regional Chapter as well. He submitted that this could jeopardise Chapters’ membership efforts, in terms of both recruitment and retention, and suggested that KZN should propose an amendment to the Constitution that would make it compulsory for applicants to join both the National body and a Chapter.

5.1.2.2 Mr Watts confirmed that this matter had been discussed by the National Board; the consensus had been that the status quo should remain, particularly bearing in mind that the existing policy was for a potential member to be accepted initially by the Region concerned, and then ratified by the National Membership Committee.

5.1.2.3 The application process, and the structure of membership categories and subscription levels were debated at length, following which it was agreed that :

5.1.2.3.1 The outcome of debate at the SAAFF Annual General Meeting on 24 April 2008 should be awaited, should this issue be raised.

5.1.2.3.2 Following the SAAFF AGM, and should this be considered appropriate, the thinking of other Regional Chapters should be ascertained.

5.1.2.3.3 Communication with potential clearing and forwarding members, should clearly state the constitutional obligation regarding membership of National as well as the local Chapter, and the attendant payment of two subscription fees.

(See also Minute 13.3.4 of these Minutes)

5.2 SAAFF Congress 04-05 June 2008

It was noted that papers relevant to the SAAFF Congress had been circulated to this Chapter’s members and had, in addition, been placed on the website.

6. CUSTOMS MATTERS

6.1 The Chairman congratulated Mr Watts and Mr Dwyer on the success of the Customs Indaba, held on 01 April 2008, which they had arranged and facilitated. Over 50 member representatives had attended and had participated in a lively exchange of information and views on the various issues raised.

6.2 Mr Watts stated that the matters discussed at the Indaba had been taken forward to the Durban Customs Stakeholders Meeting held the following day. The following items had been addressed :

Communications

There was no progress on the upgrade of the PABX at Albany House and the IT unit had still to set up the Ops support email address system.

Multiple Vehicle Shipments In Transit

An explanatory note (to be prepared by Mr Watts), once approved by Theresa Burger, would be posted on the SAAFF-KZN website.

Penalties – ADR and IDR

The involvement of business in the ADR and IDR process – the suggestion was that retirees or former employees with the requisite knowledge and experience should be invited to serve on ‘adjudication’ panels – was to be pursued at National level.

Acquittals

7961 acquittals remained outstanding. It appeared that a change was in the pipeline regarding the requirement for a hard copy. The issue of WH and WE acquittals was to be addressed by SAAFF at national level.

Provisional Payments

The request for a standardised format, to be applied countrywide, was to be pursued at national level.

BCOCC

Discussions were still taking place concerning the formation of an Intra-governmental unit to act as a single agency, co-ordinating stops.

Inspections and Examinations

It had been agreed that Agents as well as Customs should ensure that skilled staff were in attendance at examinations. For example agents should have relevant documents and literature available and be able to answer questions.

Preparation of Templates for Standard Documents

Messrs Dwyer and Watts had offered to draw up guideline templates for standard documents such as Examination Without Prejudice and Motivation, which could be placed on the SAAFF-KZN website after having been checked and approved by Durban Customs.

SARS Service and Compliance Charters

The level of staff skills at the Call Centre had been the subject of discussion.

Other

Customs were:

h Investigating the practicalities of introducing an access system for

areas such as the cash office.

h Reinstating the Correspondence Registry system consequent upon problems being experienced.

h Focusing on compliance and National PCI performance vis-à-vis accreditation.

h Willing to arrange a presentation on accreditation and de-certification. Ashika Pillay had offered to provide the speakers and SAAFF-KZN had agreed to nominate a date and find a venue.

Customs had apologised for the lack of a telephone receptionist during late March.

6.3 State Warehouse

It was disappointing to learn that no progress had been achieved in respect of the destruction of illegal cargo.

6.4 Stop Notes, Audit Queries, Provisional Payments & Outstanding Cash Boards

A circular had been distributed to senior management of SAAFF-KZN members in the above connection.

6.5 Seizure of Goods

The Chairman read the following summary of a Supreme Court of Appeal Judgement:

“In a landmark judgement, The Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled that the SA Revenue Service was entitled to seize goods belonging to a small business, in the absence of any import or documentary proof of where they were purchased. According to a Business Day report, the Appeal Court held that the owner of a business was under a duty to keep proper books of account and documents to reflect where the goods were brought from.

These provisions were introduced into the Customs and Excise Act of 1964 for the purpose of facilitating the policing of the importation of goods. The court held that the owner’s inability to produce any such documents was a reasonable ground for SARS to conclude that the goods were liable to forfeiture. SARS was entitled to seize them”. Noted

7. AIRFREIGHT MATTERS

7.1 The Chairman said it was his sad duty to announce that Mr Geyer was resigning as Chairman of the Airfreight Division due to the fact he was relocating to Johannesburg. The manner in which Mr Geyer had discharged his responsibilities had been admirable and his commitment and enthusiasm would be greatly missed. On behalf of this Committee, the Chairman wished Mr Geyer every success and happiness for the future.

7.2 In response to the Chairman’s invitation, Mr Geyer confirmed that he had given the matter of a successor careful thought, and following consultations with Airfreight members, wished to nominate Deno Moodlayiar of Schenker as the next Divisional Chairperson. This was agreed.

7.3 It was noted that the Division had not met since the last meeting of this Committee.

8. HARBOUR CARRIERS MATTERS

8.1 Mr Sodalay advised that there were no major issues of concern to bring to the attention of this meeting. Delays were being caused, in the main, by load-shedding, which was being addressed by Port authorities. Monthly meetings were held with DCT and Pier 1 and, at this stage, operations were running smoothly. Discussions were taking place regarding the way forward in relation to maximising efficient usage of the SARS scanner. Noted

8.2 Mr Martin reported that an assurance had been given that the planned widening of road access to Pier 1 would not commence until such time as a holding area was available for trucks.

8.3. Replying to a query, Mr Martin confirmed that the intention was to abolish the current CTO process at Pier 1, in favour of an EDI system that would be controlled by shipping lines. Trials were presently being conducted and when the new procedure was introduced it would initially run in tandem with the existing system to allow all parties concerned to adjust to the new practice. Noted

9. WAREHOUSE MATTERS

In the absence of Mr de Villiers, no report was available.

10. MARITIME MATTERS

10.1 Draft Port Rules : Registration of Clearing and Forwarding Agents

It was noted that no further information was available from Transnet National Ports Authority.

10.2 Port Consultative Committee

Mr Watts advised that Tony Norton, in his capacity as Chairman of the National Port Users Forum, had been requested by the Minister of Transport to assist in arranging for three representatives from each of the 7 South African ports to attend meetings, the aim of which was to establish Consultative Committees in each port. The Durban meeting was scheduled to take place on 07 May. Tony Norton had invited SAAFF-KZN, which was a member of the NPUF, to be represented at a preliminary meeting on 14 April. The other 8-9 NPUF constituent members would also be present. At this stage it was uncertain whether clearing and forwarding agents would be represented on the Port Consultative Committees. In his view it was critical to ensure that harbour carriers were included in the composition of the Durban Port Consultative Committee; accordingly, he proposed that Mr Sodalay and himself should be mandated by the SAAFF-KZN Executive Committee to attend the meeting on 14 April. This was agreed.

11. PUBLICITY MATTERS : GOLF AND BOWLS DAY

11.1 Mr Edwards stated that, enquiries having been made, it had been decided to hold the SAAFF-KZN Golf and Bowls Tournaments on the same day, namely Monday, 08 September2008, the venues being the Royal Durban Golf Club and the Durban Bowling Club (located in close proximity to each other in Greyville). He reminded the Committee that while the function was primarily a social/networking event for members, their clients and service providers, it was also a fund-raiser for the NSRI. As was the case in the past two years with the Barnyard Theatre and Gold Circle, certain dates were set aside for ‘charity days’ and a choice had to be made from the dates available.

11.2 Continuing, Mr Edwards explained that the preference would be for participants to enter teams of four players, in respect of both golf and bowls. Entries would be on the usual first-come first-served principle and would be confirmed only when payment of the fee had been received. Sponsorship of golf holes and putting greens and bowls greens would be sought. Advertising would be permitted, albeit with clearly defined criteria. Costings had not yet been finalised.

11.3 Ms Nortje remarked that it was hoped to secure as many prizes as possible for the players. Those who agreed to donate would be asked for four prizes, one for each member of a successful competing team.

11.4 It was agreed that :

11.4.1 Mr Edwards and Ms Nortje be authorised to publicise the Golf and Bowls Day, and to seek sponsorship and donations in the name of SAAFF-KZN.

Action: P Edwards and D Nortje

11.4.2 Once costings had been finalised, Messrs Sodalay and Martin would publicise the function amongst Harbour Carriers. Action: M Sodalay and K Martin

11.4.3 The SAAFF-KZN Executive Committee meeting scheduled to be held on 09 September should be re-scheduled to 16 September. Action: Secretary

12. TRAINING MATTERS

12.1 Mr Ntshangase reported that: